MILLING

MILLING. The principal types of mills built in Dubuque were constructed for the processing of flour, oatmeal, or spice. Important flourmills were the ROCKDALE MILL, Pratt and Company, Thomas-Rogers Company, IOWA PACIFIC MILL and the ROOSTER FLOUR MILL. Oatmeal mills were the CALEDONIA MILLS and the Dubuque Oatmeal Mill. Two spice mills operating in Dubuque were the KEY CITY SPICE MILL and the MCFADDEN COFFEE AND SPICE COMPANY.

Mills in Dubuque prospered because of the city's location near the MISSISSIPPI RIVER over which raw and finished products could be transported. Once lands to the north and west were settled and Dubuque was no longer the closest source of processing, mills generally found themselves unable to compete for business and closed.