The Flour-Milling Revolution in America, 1820–1920 The Indiana Experience

Abstract

In this article, David Paul Nord investigates the multi-faceted revolution of the flour-milling industry during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in America, centering general trends in Indiana and across the Midwest. His approach highlights what he identifies as the six key elements to understanding the flour milling revolution more fully—these include power, transport, agriculture, process, machinery, and marketing. Focusing on the success and expansion of small-to-medium-sized mills, Nord underscores the role of manufacturers of flour milling equipment during this innovative era; he also explores the dramatic growth in the production of high-tech milling machinery and the development of machine manufacturers into the role of full-service mill furnishers. The article concludes by considering how the transformational changes of the flour-milling revolution during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have had lasting, even permanent effects on the industry, and hints that another revolution may yet be on the horizon.