Citizens

Cuyahoga River

Industry

Architecture

Leisure Time

Did You Know?

Documents & Records

History Books

50 Years and Over of Akron and Summit County

Samuel A. Lane, Beacon Job Department, Akron, Ohio 1892, p 454-459

CEREAL OPERATIONS.—It will be remembered that in its earlier history, milling was Akron's chief industry, which, while not very materially augmenting the industrial population, yet by furnish­ing a ready market to the surrounding farmers for their grain, greatly enhanced the commercial and financial interests of the village and county. The famous Old Stone Mill, built by Dr, Crosby and others in 1832, was the pioneer, followed by the AEtna, by William B. Mitchell and Samuel A. Wheeler in 1838; the Center Mill, by Joseph A. Beebe and William E. Wright, in 1839; the Cascade Mill, by William B. Mitchell, in 1840, and a few years later by the City Mill, by Gen. Geo. W. McNeil and others; the Ayliffe Mill, (afterwards the Carter & Steward Oatmeal Mill); the Pearl Mill, by William G. Raymond, Abraham Fulton, A. M. Barber and others, now the Hower Oatmeal Mill); the Perkins Mill, (now the Allen Mill), etc., Akron flour, both under the old and new pro­cesses, ever having maintained a high standing in New York and other Eastern markets.

A TRULY "LIVE DUTCHMAN."—But it was reserved to Fred. Schumacher, to bring to Akron its chief renown as a milling center. Coming hither in 1851, Mr. Schumacher, in company with Mr. Theodore Weibezahn, opened a small notion store in Hall's block, 'fronting on West Market street. Withdrawing from that business in August, 1852, Mr. S. started a small family supply store, where the First National Bank now stands, afterwards removing to the larger room across the street, next to Empire House, where, for a number of years he did a profitable business, with Mr. Charles W. Bonstedt as his chief clerk.

In 1859, Mr. S. commenced the manufacture of oatmeal, on a small scale, in a frame building at the foot of Howard street, which had originally been used for a woolen factory, but later by ex-Sheriff Thomas Wilson, in the manufacture of mineral paint. This, undoubtedly the pioneer oatmeal mill in America, was appropriately named "The German Mill." Its products finding a ready sale, Mr. S. soon added the manufacture of pearl barley, for which, in 1863, a separate extensive mill was built on South Sum­mit street, near the Union depot, which was named the "Empire Barley Mill." In 1872 the orginial German Mill was destroyed by fire, a new German Mill being built near the Empire Mill on Summit street. Sundry additions were made from time to time, a large elevator for the storage of grain having been erected in 1879, Mr. S. having in the meantime bought and refitted with modern machinery, the Cascade Mill, near Lock Fourteen, Ohio Canal, originally built by Mr. William B. Mitchell, in 1840.

TERRIBLE CALAMITY.—Other mills were added to the original plant on Summit street, including the celebrated eight story " Jumbo" mill, a large drying house, fronting on Broadway, and the splendid office building on the corner of Mill and Broadway, the whole with several small dwelling houses, mostly owned by Mr. S., covering the entire square, bounded by Summit street upon the east, Mill street upon the north, Broadway street upon the west, and Quarry street upon the south. These immense mills, filled throughout with expensive machinery, were being driven to their fullest capacity to meet the demands of the wonderful busi­ness which the energetic push of Mr. S. had thus built up, when, oh the night of March 6, 1886, the entire plant, except the original Empire Barley Mill, with their valuable contents, were destroyed by tire, involving a loss to Mr. S., over and above insurance, of $600,000, besides a prospective serious interruption to his business.

THE F. SCHUMACHER MILLING COMPANY.—In the meantime, so popular had become the oatmeal and other cereal products manu­factured by Mr. S., other similar mills had been started in Akron and elsewhere, one of the largest of which, that of the Akron Milling Company, in connection with the old stone mill, was just fairly getting into operation.

Between this company and Mr. Schumacher, a consolidation was effected, by which the several milling properties of both were brought together under one corporation—The F. Schumacher Mill­ing Company—with an authorized capital stock of two millions of dollars, the business thus being carried right along with but a comparatively slight interruption; the officers of the company being Ferd. Schumacher, president; Lords Schumacher, vice-President; F. Adolph Schumacher, secretary; Hugo Schumacher, treasurer.

The German mill, the elevator and the drying house, together with the office building, have been rebuilt, a second larger elevator erected, and it is confidently expected that the entire burned plant will be rehabilitated in the near future, and the cereal works of the Schumacher Milling Company maintain their standing as the very largest and best establishment of their kind in the world.

THE HOWER OATMEAL MILLS.—What was formerly the Pearl Mill, corner of Canal and Cherry streets, was converted into an oatmeal mill, in the latter seventies, by Mr. Robert Turner, a prac­tical miller, the present proprietors, the Hower Company, succeed­ing to the business in 1880. The officers of this corporation are: John H. Hower, president; Harvey Y. Hower, vice president; M. Otis Hower, secretary, and Charles H. Hower, treasurer, the three latter being sons of the former. Large additions have been made to the works, increasing the capacity from about 2,000 pounds, in 1880, to nearly 30,000 pounds of bulk and package cereal goods, in 1888, for which a rapidly increasing sale is being found in every portion of the United States.

AMERICAN CEREAL COMPANY.—Since the foregoing was pub­lished in serial form, most of the principal oatmeal mills of the United States, in June 1891, united in the organization of The American Cereal Company, with a capital of $3,400,000, the F. Schumacher Milling Company and the Hower Company selling their entire plants to, and the several members thereof becoming stockholders of, the new company, with Mr. Ferd. Schumacher as its president and its principal office in Akron.

THE ALLEN MILLS.—In the middle forties a substantial brick mill was erected on Canal street, south of Cherry, for the manu­facture of satinets, by the Perkins Company, composed of the late Simon Perkins, Jedediah D. and Alexander H. Commins, Jesse, Jacob and Hiram Allen, etc. Some years later this plant was con­verted into a flouring mill by the Perkins Company, and is now owned and operated by Allen & Co., composed of Frank H. Allen,of New York, and Victor J. Allen and William A. Palmer, of Akron. Supplied with the very best of modern machinery and processes, the various grades of family and bakers' flour manufactured by this firm, find a ready and extensive sale both at home and in New York and other eastern markets.

SEIBERLING MILLING COMPANY. Capital $200,000, five-story brick mill, located in the Sixth ward, on the site of the old Cuya­hoga blast furnace, erected i n 1817. It is first-class throughout, with a capacity of 1,000 barrels of flour per day. The officers of the com­pany are: President, John F. Seiberling; secretary, Lucius C. Miles; treasurer, Frank A. Seiberling.

SOUTH AKRON FLOURING MILL—This mill, together with a sawmill, at the head of the canal basin, in South Akron, is now owned and operated by the Brewster Coal Company, as a custom feed mill, the new process appliances, for manufacturing flour, never having been introduced. It is nevertheless, capable of doing good work in the particular line of grinding indicated, and is a very great convenience to its patrons.