Monroe County history: Amendt Milling dates back to 1840
The Amendt name began to be associated with flour and milling in Monroe in 1895. However, the history of the Amendt Milling Company actually traced its origins back to 1840 as the Monroe City Mills – as described in Bulkley’s History of Monroe County Michigan. Monroe City Mills also paid homage to the first flour ever shipped out of Michigan to the East on Lake Erie to the Erie Canal. That shipment was a consignment of 200 barrels manufactured at the Waterloo Mills by Miller and Jermain of Monroe in 1827.
George A. Amendt capitalized on Monroe’s status as both an agricultural center and growing industrial center of the Midwest by processing and shipping large amounts of processed flour products to customers in both the Eastern and Southern U.S. To that point, Bulkley wrote, “[The Amendt Milling Company], in 1912, is using 500,000 bushels of wheat, about 300,000 bushels of corn and nearly 1,000,000 bushels of oats. They employ the utmost capacity of four elevators, located in Ida, Petersburg, Newport and Monroe, besides one lately acquired in Ohio. The demand for the various grains raised in Monroe County and adjacent territory makes this one of the best markets in the state and one of the most active manufacturing establishments in Southeastern Michigan.”
During the early part of the 20th century, Amendt was an active participant in Michigan’s flour milling industry. In 1909, Amendt reported to the journal Flour & Feed, “As regard to present conditions, I would say that our business is very good; we have kept our plant running steadily, and we have been able to purchase and keep ahead a good supply of wheat.” Additionally, Amendt, as President of the Michigan State Millers Association told participants at the meeting in Detroit on July 9, 1919 at the Cadillac Hotel that Michigan millers should add a 7 to 8 cents handling charge to the cost of making flour to cover rising costs.
The Amendt Milling Company capitalized on Monroe’s association with the Lotus flower by branding its signature product “The Lotus Flour”. Other Amendt brands of the era included “Jewel Pastry Flour”, the AMCO group of grain products (scratch grain, egg mash, bakers patent flour, chicken feed, cracked corn, etc.). These products later expanded into the production of popular baking mix products, including cake mixes, pancake mixes, brownie mixes, pizza crust mixes, and coating mixes. Many of these Amendt products carried the “County-Fare” brand along with private label branding sold to leading U.S. retailers.
The Amendt Milling Company continued acquisitions in the early part of the 20th century -- acquiring assets of the Coombs Mills in Coldwater, Michigan in 1917. Coombs operated three mills beginning prior to the Civil War and sold products under the “Rob Roy” brand. Products continued to be produced by the Amendt Milling Company until it was sold in 2005 to the LBMP and Loretta Food Group Inc., a conglomerate based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
In Monroe, the Amendt Milling Company’s original plant retains an iconic physical presence in Monroe’s downtown. According to the Monroe County Museum website, “At 317 West Front Street, you will see the remains of an old factory with the words “Amendt Milling Co.” above the door and “Home of the Lotus Flour” still faintly visible on the exterior. …Its presence in Monroe is a reminder of the significant dual role that Michigan played during the Civil War [and later] as an industrial center, and an agricultural supplier. … Consider the vital role that communities such as Monroe played in both the industrialization and maintenance of agricultural practices that made Michigan unique…”
Tom Adamich is President – Visiting Librarian Service, a firm he has operated since 1993. He also is Project Archivist for the Greening Nursery Company and Family Archives.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County history: Amendt Milling dates back to 1840
