Queen Bee Mill

United States historic place


Queen Bee Mill
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

The mill's foundation
43°33′25″N 96°43′19″W / 43.55694°N 96.72194°W / 43.55694; -96.72194
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built	1881 (1881)
Architect	McKeen, J. W.
NRHP reference No.	84003362^[1]
Added to NRHP	August 1, 1984

The Queen Bee Mill is a ruined mill complex located in Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Opened in 1881, the mill operated intermittently for several different owners during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A 1956 fire led to the site's demolition, leaving the ruins that stand today. The mill site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The mill was built between 1879 and 1881 under the guidance of politician Richard F. Pettigrew, who believed that Sioux Falls could harness the power of the Big Sioux River for local industry. When it opened on October 25, 1881, the mill could process 1200 barrels of grain per day, and its elevator could hold 130,000 bushels;^[2] it also had connections to all five of the city's rail lines through a spur of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway. Despite the mill's high capacity, it suffered from weaker than expected water power and a poor supply of wheat, and it was financially unsuccessful. It closed on April 20, 1883, less than two years after it opened, and its operators went bankrupt.^[3]^[4]

The mill sat vacant until 1911, when the United Flour Mills Company of Minneapolis bought the site. United Flour Mills operated the mill until 1916 or 1918 and were responsible for electrifying the complex. After they ended regular operations at the mill, the Commander-Larabee Company used it occasionally through 1929. The property was converted to warehouse space in 1937, and it remained in use as such until 1956.^[4]

A fire destroyed the complex in 1956, and its remains were demolished in 1961. The foundations of the mill and grain elevator are all that remain at the site.^[3]

The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1984.^[1]

Facilities

When it opened, the mill complex included four buildings: the mill itself, a grain elevator, a warehouse, and a cooper's workshop. The mill stood seven stories high with a footprint of 80 by 100 feet (24 m × 30 m). The elevator was shorter than the mill at four stories high, and it measured 142 by 50 feet (43 m × 15 m) at its base. All four buildings were constructed from quartzite quarried at the building site. The complex also included a dam, mill race, and turbine to supply power to the mill.^[3]^[4] The entire mill cost roughly $500,000 to build.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ Ted's Vintage Art. "Sioux Falls, SD Historical Map - 1881". Ted's Vintage Art. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lubeck, Tom; Torma, Carolyn (March 23, 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Queen Bee Mill". National Park Service. Retrieved October 28, 2014. Accompanied by photos.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hoskins, Bill (December 18, 2015). "The Queen Bee Mill". South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
^ Renshaw, Eric (June 3, 2016). "Looking Back: Queen Bee Mill remains remind us of a once imposing structure". Argus-Leader. Retrieved November 28, 2023.

External links

Media related to Queen Bee Mill at Wikimedia Commons

National Register of Historic Places in Minnehaha County, South Dakota

Districts

All Saints Historic District
Cathedral Historic District
Dell Rapids Historic District
Dell Rapids Residential Historic District
Hayes Historic District
McKennan Park Historic District
Old Courthouse and Warehouse Historic District
Sherman Historic District
Sioux Falls Downtown Historic District
Slip Up Creek Homestead
Split Rock Creek Park Historic District
Terrace Park and Japanese Gardens
Thompson Farmstead
Tolefsons Beef Stock Farm
Willow Grove Farm

Buildings

Commercial and Industrial	Berg and Estensen Store 330 S. 1st Ave. 529 N. Main Carpenter Hotel Dell Rapids Warming House Farley-Loetscher Company Building Farley-Loetscher Company Building I First National Bank of Garretson Andrew Kuehn Warehouse L & A Baking Company L.D. Miller Funeral Home John Mundt Building Orpheum Theatre R.F. Pettigrew and S.L. Tate Building Phillips Block Plumbing Supply Company Dr. Fredrich A. Randolph Block Security Bank Building Shriver-Johnson Building Sioux Falls Light and Power Hydro Electric Plant Sioux Falls National Bank Building Gina Smith Campbell Bathhouse Stock Yards State Bank and Tri-State Wholesale Grocery Co. Texaco Super Service Station John W. Tuthill Lumber Company
Education	All Saints School Main Building Augustana College Historic Buildings Carnegie Free Public Library Carnegie Public Library Glidden-Martin Hall Grand Lodge and Library of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons Jorden Hall South Dakota School for the Deaf Washington High School
Government	Central Fire Station East Site Fire Station and Branch Library Federal Building and United States Courthouse Odd Fellows Home of Dell Rapids Old Minnehaha County Courthouse South Dakota State Penitentiary Historic Buildings South Side Fire Station No. 3
Religious	First Congregational Church Josephine Martin Glidden Memorial Chapel Renner Lutheran Sanctuary St. Peter's Lutheran Church
Residential	Andrew O. Huseboe House Austin-Olson Farm Berdahl-Rolvaag House Blackstone Court Apartments^† Marion E. Bowen House Brooks Brothers Home Margaret Burger Apartment House Edward Coughran House E.J. and Alice Daniels House Harrison DeLong House Ole E. Fauske House The Gloria House Orlan A. Hayward House Hans J. Hilmoe Barn LaSalle Apartments Daniel Lund House William G. Milne House Parmley-Pankow House Presentation Children's Home Grant J. Reynolds House Shafer Round Barn R.D. and Mary Springer House Stadum-Green House Dr. Steven's House Charles A. Thomas House Laura M. Welch House Williams Piano Company House
Transportation	Illinois Central Passenger Depot Rock Island Depot