Cascade Cereal Company facts for kids

The Cascade Cereal Company was a company that made flour and cereal in Tacoma, Washington. It started out as the Cascade Oatmeal Company. This was the very first mill in the American West to make oats and cereal.

John Wesley Berry, a pioneer from Washington state, founded the company in 1888. It grew quickly, adding more mills and storage buildings. By 1900, there were five milling companies in Tacoma. Cascade Cereal Company was the second biggest in sales. The company even won contracts to supply food to state schools and hospitals. They also sent their products to countries in Southeast Asia.

In 1893, a financial crisis happened, and John Berry lost control of the company. He continued to work there as a manager. In 1903, another company called Albers Brothers bought Cascade Cereal. It later became part of the larger Albers Brothers Milling Company.

Sadly, a big fire on July 24, 1903, destroyed the company's main building and mill. The damage was huge, and the insurance didn't cover everything. The plant was rebuilt in 1905 and renamed Albers Brothers Mill of Tacoma. In 1984, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. That same year, the Nestle Corporation bought the Albers brand name. They still use it today to make grits and cornmeal.

The Company's Early Days

Starting as Cascade Oatmeal Company

The Cascade Cereal Company began with one mill. John Wesley Berry built it in 1888. It was the first mill in the West to process oats and cereal. This building was five stories tall. It covered a large area on Jefferson Avenue in Tacoma.

The Cascade Oatmeal Company officially started in August 1892. It had $100,000 in starting money. John Berry became its president. His brother-in-law, Charles W. Quinn, was also one of the owners.

In 1892, the Cascade Oatmeal mill faced a problem. It was the first mill in Washington state to find tiny bugs called weevils in their wheat. At first, the company tried to keep this a secret. They wanted to protect their product prices and insurance rates. But later, they told everyone what happened. They said the weevils came from wheat shipped from San Francisco. They claimed their local wheat was still bug-free. Another businessman from Washington disagreed. He said it was "nonsense" to think the product could stay bug-free forever.

The company had more difficulties later. John Berry bought a share in another company, the Oakesdale Milling Company. This partnership did not work out well. Both the Tacoma and Oakesdale mills had to close for a short time.

In 1893, trade began between America and Southeast Asia. At this time, selling flour was very profitable. Flour was one of the most needed products. Berry quickly built another flour mill in Tacoma. He wanted it to be ready faster than similar mills in Seattle. This new mill was also on Jefferson Avenue, near the Cascade Oatmeal mill. It could produce 150 U.S. dry bbl (15 MTON) of flour every day.

Becoming Cascade Cereal Company

In 1895, the Cascade Cereal Company was officially formed. It took the place of the Cascade Oatmeal Company. The new company started with $10,000. This money came from 100 shares, each worth $100. The people who started the new company were John Wesley Berry, M. E. Quinn, and N. M. L. Berry.

A big financial problem in the U.S. in 1893 caused changes. John Berry lost control of the company. He later worked there as a manager. By 1900, J. G. Deming was the company's president. J. J. Deming was the vice president, and L. D. Coates was the secretary and treasurer. John Berry was still the manager. However, Prosser, who helped start the Washington State Historical Society, said that Berry got his original share of the company back by 1903.

Over the years, the mill got better and grew bigger. Prosser said the mill had "high-grade" equipment. It made "the very best rolled oats, cereals and flours" of that time. In 1900, under the new management, a new warehouse was built. It could hold 20,000 sacks of oats. Also, a new factory was built to make pearl barley.

The company had 25 employees. It could make 150 U.S. dry bbl (17 m³) of flour each day. It also produced 100 U.S. dry bbl (12 m³) of rolled oats and 100 U.S. dry bbl (12 m³) of meal daily. In 1900, the total value of products made each year was about $300,000. At that time, Cascade Cereal Company was one of five milling companies in Tacoma. All five companies together made products worth $2 million. The biggest company was Puget Sound Flouring Mills. Cascade Cereal Company was in second place.

Between 1900 and 1901, the company won many government contracts. They supplied products to state institutions. These included the Western Washington hospital, the state reform school, and the Soldier's home.

In 1902, Albers Brothers bought the Cascade Cereal Company. Bernard Albers became the president. He owned most of the company. Under his leadership, the company made 150 barrels of rolled oats and 125 barrels of flour every day.

Bernard Albers owned several other companies across the U.S. On March 1, 1903, he brought them all together. He formed the well-known Albers Brothers Milling Company.

The Big Fire and What Happened Next

On July 24, 1903, a fire destroyed the Cascade Cereal Company. Many other businesses and homes were also damaged by the fire and water. It took only 35 minutes for the company's mill building to burn down. Then the fire spread to nearby buildings. Firefighters put out the fire about 30 minutes later.

At the time, the mill was worth about $90,000. About $30,000 of that was in product stock. The insurance for the mill was about $54,000. The total loss from the fire for the building was estimated at $150,000.

A newspaper called the San Juan Islander said the fire was "one of the hottest in the history of the city." The Tacoma fire department's yearly report agreed. It said the fire was one of the four "largest fires the department ever had to handle." The total loss for the city was about $97,000.

People generally believed the fire started from a spark. A train passing by caused the spark. It landed on wood shavings in one of the Cascade mill rooms on the ground floor. This caused the fire to begin.

Later Years and Legacy

In 1905, the plant was rebuilt. It was renamed Albers Brothers Mill of Tacoma. Bernard Albers was the president of the company until he passed away in 1908. In 1984, the company building in Tacoma was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was seen as an important reminder of the Albers Brothers Milling Company. In the same year, the Nestle Corporation bought the Albers brand name. They started making grits and cornmeal under the Albers brand.

See also

• John Wesley Berry
• Albers Brothers Milling Company
• Albers Brothers Mill
• Western State Hospital (Washington)