Wisconsin Was a Major Wheat-Growing State in the 1800s

From 1840 to 1880, Wisconsin produced about one-sixth (just over 16%) of all the wheat grown in the United States. By 1860, Wisconsin had the second-highest wheat yield in the nation.

In 1865, Sauk County farmers grew nearly 278,000 bushels of wheat, making it the 18th-largest wheat-producing county in Wisconsin.

Wheat remained Wisconsin’s number-one crop until the 1860s, when wheat rust disease and chinch bugs devastated harvests. Over time, most farmers shifted to other crops—especially dairy, which would later define Wisconsin’s agricultural identity. Today, Wisconsin ranks 33rd among U.S. states in wheat production (2024).

---

 

Milling and the Growth of Wheat Farming

As wheat farming expanded, communities needed ways to process grain into flour. Before wheat can be consumed, it must be ground into smaller pieces.

To produce white flour, wheat is sifted to separate three parts:

• Bran

• Germ

• Endosperm

White flour contains only the endosperm, while whole wheat flour includes all three components.

Nearly every community in Sauk County—including Reedsburg—had a grist mill or flour mill, allowing farmers to haul crops only a short distance for processing.

Mills also ground other grains such as corn, oats, barley, and rice, producing flour for human use and meal or feed for animals.

---

 

What’s the Difference Between a Grist Mill and a Flour Mill?

The word “grist” refers to grain that is ground for both:

• human consumption

• animal meal and feed

A grist mill processed grain for both purposes.

A flour mill, on the other hand, typically produced flour only for human consumption.

In practice, the terms were often used interchangeably, since both types of mills ground grain. Heaton’s mill, for example, was called a flour or flouring mill, but it also produced feed for animals.

---

 

What Is a “Roller Mill”?

Heaton named his mill the Reedsburg Roller Mills because of the equipment used to grind grain.

Earlier mills relied on two large, flat, circular millstones. As the top stone turned, it crushed grain into smaller pieces. The flour was then sifted to separate the bran, germ, and endosperm. Flour made this way is known as stone-ground flour.

Roller mills were a major technological improvement—and are still used today. Instead of stones, they use two revolving corrugated steel rollers that crush grain while separating the bran and germ from the endosperm. The flour is then sifted again to complete the process.