North Dakota is known for its wide array of agricultural products, being a national leader in dry edible beans, canola, flaxseed, honey, durum wheat, and spring wheat. This diversity in production has meant processing facilities have needed to match state outputs, specifically through the use of roller mills.
On this date in 1980, the Carson Roller Mill was entered into the National Register of Historic Places due to it being the only roller flour mill in North Dakota to remain essentially unaltered and to retain its original equipment. Roller flour mills were a common feature of the early settlement period in the state, but most mill buildings and equipment have been lost through demolition, fire, or incorporation into grain elevator complexes.
The Carson Mill was opened in 1913 by a group of Carson residents led by Richard Mott, a prominent regional promoter. He had the compact, self-contained mill shipped from Kentucky, where the Anglo-American Mill Co. advertised it as the “Midget Marvel.” It soon operated around the clock, producing forty-five barrels of Wild Rose Flour each day.
The mill was purchased by Vincent Muggli in 1919. He operated it with his three sons until 1946, when they “could no longer compete with commercial breadmakers,” but continued operating it as a grain dealer and processor until 1979. The Muggli family remains involved in agriculture in the region.
The Carson Roller Mill is a rare and valuable example of industrial technology that connects visitors to the commerce and industry of North Dakota’s early settlement period.
Dakota Datebook written by Jacob Clauson