C.A. Pillsbury and Company was founded in 1872 by Charles Alfred Pillsbury and his uncle John Sargent Pillsbury. The company was the first in the United States to use steam rollers for processing grain. The finished product required transportation, so the Pillsburys assisted in funding railroad development in Minnesota.
[image] In 1889, Pillsbury and its five mills on the banks of the Mississippi River were purchased by a British company. The company also tried to purchase and merge with the Washburn Crosby Company (a precursor of General Mills), but the strong rivalry prevented any merger from happening at the time. The Pillsbury family reacquired the company in 1923. In 1989, the British company Grand Metropolitan purchased the food maker. A decade later, the old rivals merged. However, the baking products division was sold to International Multifoods Corporation, which was later acquired by Smucker's.
Pillsbury once claimed to have the largest grain Mill in the world at the Pillsbury 'A' Mill overlooking Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The building had two of the most powerful direct-drive waterwheels ever built, each putting out 1200 Horsepower (895 kW). There are now plans to convert it into a loft-style apartment building.