The Sheridan Flouring Mills, also known as the Mill Inn, are an industrial complex in

Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a town in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County. The town is located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 and 16. It is the principal town of the Sheridan, Wyoming, Micropol ...

. The mills were a major component of the economy of north central

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, providing collection, storage and milling of locally produced

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and other grains into

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

and other milled products. The original mill was established by Captain Scott W. Snively in the early 1890s. The Sheridan Milling and Manufacturing Company was sold to J.W. Denio in 1903, who operated the mill at its location on Broadway Avenue near downtown Sheridan. A catastrophic fire destroyed this mill in 1919, resulting in the purchase of a new location on Coffeen Avenue and construction of a much larger mill. The present complex was built in 1920-21 for J.W. Denio by Ballinger and McAllister of

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...

. It consists of a

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

mill building with a long two-story wing and a more compact six-story section, adjoined by a reinforced concrete

grain elevator A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

with seven pairs of grain tanks. The elevator features a large logo with a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

on a bucking horse and the legend "Best Out West Enriched Flour, Tomahawk Feeds For Livestock and Poultry, Sheridan Flouring Mills, Inc." The elevator building is high, while the grain tanks are high. The mill therefore dominates the skyline of Sheridan. The mill was purchased by Nebraska Consolidated Mills Company in 1963, the firm that became

Con-Agra Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...

in 1971. The mill was upgraded in 1967, but closed in 1972. In 1974 a local corporation purchased the mill and converted it into a hotel in 1977-1978. As part of the hotel renovation, the interior partitions were removed from the mill building and new windows were installed, partially closing the openings with masonry. The grain elevators had a capacity in the 1930s of 410,000 bushels of grain. They are now abandoned and their machinery has been removed. The mill's products included wheat cereal and biscuit, doughnut, waffle and pancake flour, marketed as "Best Out West." Animal feed products were sold under the "Tomahawk" brand. The mill employed a baker to test the production by baking bread twice a day. The mill had a rail connection via a spur line of the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

. The tracks were removed with the development of the Sugarland commercial district.

References

External links

The Mill Inn, History
*{{NRHP url, id=97001533, title=Photographs of the Sheridan Flouring Mills, photos=y at the National Park Service's NRHP database
Sheridan Flouring Mills, Inc. (Mill Inn)
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office Buildings and structures in Sheridan County, Wyoming Flour mills in the United States Grain elevators in the United States Hotels in Wyoming Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Grinding mills in Wyoming Agricultural buildings and structures in Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Sheridan County, Wyoming Industrial buildings completed in 1921 Hotels established in 1978 1978 establishments in Wyoming Sheridan, Wyoming