Trouble at the mill - The Mill City Museum

In 1874 the Washburn "A" mill on the west bank of the Mississippi was built. It was the second largest mill in the Mill City. In those exciting early days of the Minneapolis flour industry, thick clouds of dust rose up from each of the mills and settled on every surface. The staff all looked like they'd been licked and dipped in sherbet.

In 1878 the airborne flour dust ignited and exploded. The seven story building was blown apart, two other mills were destroyed in the blast and the spreading fire flattened the surrounding area. Eighteen people were killed. This Great Mill Disaster led to revolutionary changes in the milling industry to reduce dust build up. Ventilation systems to capture (and then bag and sell) the flour dust were installed and there was never another dust explosion in Minneapolis.

The Washburn "A" mill was rebuilt bigger and better than ever, the biggest and most technologically advanced mill in the world. It continued to operate for another 50 years before the mill closed and the building was abandoned. Empty for nearly 30 years, the building was ruined by fire in the early 1990s and now hosts the Mill City Museum.


There are lots of cool things to do and see at the museum. I learned a lot of interesting things about flour in the couple of hours I spent wandering around in here. I learned, for instance, that there is an insect called the Confused Flour Beetle. That alone was worth the price of the ticket.


There is also an interesting audio visual presentation in an elevator which takes the group up and down through the various levels of the mill to see static and video displays, as well as hearing the recorded voices of many former mill workers. Photography is forbidden on the tour, so you'll just have to go and see it for yourselves.

The best bit of the museum was the toys. There were models to play with, building bridges and controlling the flow of water through canals. Other tables allowed experimentation with different types of water wheels and turbines, or directing logs downstream into the correct yards. It's easy to see how much damage was done to St Anthony Falls by logs, at least it is if the timber traders were as lousy at this game as I am.


I love watching grown-ups play with toys. This woman was slightly self-conscious about the camera until I showed her that I was already wet to the elbows from my own efforts. Recognising a kindred spirit she consented to be blogged.


The parent or guardian who was supervising this little flour milling operation was even more worried about my camera work, at least until I offered to take their picture with their camera. See, I really did want the photo for my blog. I know it sounds a little strange, but it's true.



This device was particularly good fun, and wet. The idea was to try to block the force of the water with the palm of your hand so that you can feel the might of water turbine power, also so that you can spray yourself with water. The perfect "educational" exhibit.