Ferrell, Richard L., collector.

Few industries are as closely associated with Minnesota as flour milling. From 1880 on, Minneapolis enjoyed a reputation as the “Flour Milling Capital of the World.” Countless mills crowded both banks of the city’s Mississippi River waterfront, drawing power from St. Anthony Falls. General Mills still maintains its corporate headquarters near the city.

In 2007, the Minnesota Historical Society acquired a significant portion of the Richard Ferrell Flour Milling Industry History Collection. For 40 years Mr. Ferrell, who once managed Pillsbury’s historic A Mill on Minneapolis’s east bank, collected flour milling objects, photos, advertisements, and memorabilia from all parts of the United States and Canada. Today his collection represents the premier record of the industry’s development from the mid-1800s to the early 2000s.

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