Although the flour milling equipment at the Albany Roller Mills has been idle since the early 1970s, it will have new life in the exhibits at the Society's Mill City Museum under construction in Minneapolis.
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| The first trip for the Albany equipment was through the roof of the Albany Roller Mills Inc. to a truck headed for the Twin Cities. |
Besides preserving the equipment, the Society will document memories of the historic Albany, Minn., mill in other ways by archiving the mill's business records and videotaping oral histories of family members who remember the day-to-day operations of the mill. The videotapes also are being incorporated into the museum exhibit.
In July 2001, Society exhibits production manager Dan Shindelar and museum curator Adam Scher directed the removal of the equipment and its transport to storage in St. Paul. Eventually, many of the pieces will be part of exhibits at Mill City Museum, acquainting a new generation with such equipment as grain cleaners, middlings purifiers and flour packers – and bringing back memories for those involved in one of Minnesota's most important industries.
Scher and James Fogerty, head of the Society's Acquisitions and Curatorial department, videotaped an oral history session with Jim and Dick Thelen, whose father, John, once owned the mill. As the Thelens walked through the mill before removal of the equipment, the sounds, smells and activity came alive through their memories.
Their vivid reminiscences of the pride their father had in his product and the mill's day-to-day operation will be used by exhibit researchers to help document the history of the equipment.
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| Worker Pamela Sunnarborg cleans a roller mill to prepare it for the move. |
Some of the equipment dates back to the 19th century. Peter Schaps began operating a mill at Albany about 1880, using steam-powered millstones to grind wheat. In order to remain competitive, Schaps re-equipped his mill in the 1890s with roller mill technology. Most of the equipment acquired by the Society was likely installed at this time.
In 1899, Herman and Henry Plath bought the remodeled Schaps Mill and named
it the Albany Roller Mills. The Plath brothers ran the mill successfully until
1912 when they sold the enterprise to Christ Ahles and Mike Lenarz. In 1915,
the business advertised a daily production capacity of 80 barrels every 24
hours. In addition to selling Albany's Cream of the Wheat flour and Minneapolis
Lincoln flour, the mill dealt in "wheat and rye flour, buckwheat, corn meal, ground feed, dairy feed, wood and coal," according to a 1913 advertisement. The mill's power source was converted from steam to electricity about this time.
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| This packer received flour from the bin above it and fed it through a nozzle into a sack. It will be displayed at the new Mill City Museum. |
In 1920, Ahles and Lenarz sold the mill to brothers Hubert and Peter Thelen of Freeport. Advertisements from 1921 indicate that the mill was selling Pride of Albany and Swany White flour brands. The Thelen brothers operated the mill until 1950 when they sold it to Hubert's son, John B. Thelen. A hammer mill and mixing equipment was installed in the north section of the building about 1960 for feed production.
In 1964 the business was incorporated under the name Albany Roller Mills Inc.
John Thelen's sons David and Richard ran the mill until Richard sold his interest to David. Flour milling operations ceased about 1973. Scott J. Salzmann has owned the mill since 1988 and recently donated the equipment to the Society. Salzmann continues to operate the feed mill in the same building, producing 400 pounds of product per day for Hubbard, Pioneer, and Vitality brands.
Click here to see photo story of the Albany Roller Mills move.
Read about other unique artifacts at the Minnesota Historical Society,
including a Minneapolis Moline farm tractor and
gifts from explorer Ann Bancroft.
