Locally grown Wheat was milled into Flour here until 1920

City Mills Building - Sun Produce Building, Mansfield Ohio

Date added: January 05, 2024 Categories:

Founded by Frank and Andrus Gilbert in 1865, Gilbert, Waugh & Co. was one of two flour mills which operated in Mansfield during the late 19^th century. Mansfield Mills, later known as Brown, Hicks & Co., was established before 1858 but a third mill, J.C. Lantz & Son, was not established until about 1900. The mill was originally located in a smaller, three-story building immediately south of the existing structure. This earlier mill was built in 1847 as a warehouse on the newly built Sandusky and Mansfield Railroad line. It was adapted for use as a flour mill by Burger and Brubaker during the 1850s, and was purchased in 1865 by Gilbert & Brother. In 1870, J. M. Waugh was admitted to the company, and the name was changed to Gilbert, Waugh and Co. Known as City Mills, the mill operation continued to grow under expanded company ownership until the need for larger and more up-to-date facilities became clear. Retaining the older building as "City Mills," the company built this facility to house an advanced roller mill operation.

Roller mills were capable of grinding wheat into much finer particles than buhrstones. Since they were expensive to install, many smaller mills with limited grinding capacities could not compete with the larger city mills. One of the more successful city milling operations, Gilbert, Waugh & Co. was able to build a new structure to accommodate roller mill production equipment. The new "Mansfield Roller Mills" building was powered by steam and was producing 40,000 barrels of flour per year by 1900.

The construction of this building had the result of tripling mill capacity from 100 to 300 barrels of flour per day. According to a newspaper account of the day, the roller mill operation required 13 sets of iron rollers, two sets of mill stones, eight large wheat cleaners, two flour packing machines, eight patent dust removers, conveyors, and spouting. A large engine and boiler room, including a stack, was located at the rear of the building. An 1884 advertisement of Gilbert, Waugh & Co. offered "the choicest patent and best, roller process family flours." Among the brands of flour produced at that time were Non Pareil, Porcelain, Victor, Morning Glory, Champion, and Gilbert's Best.

Flour manufacturers succeeded in Mansfield during the late 19^th century primarily because of Richland County's abundant wheat production and access to good transportation routes in the city. The roller mill technology and improved modes of transportation made large "city" mills attractive to rural farmers in the area. The City Mills operated successfully through the late 19^th century, competing only with Brown, Hicks & Co. in Mansfield. Changes after 1900 included a change in the company name to Gilbert & Co., abandonment of the original City Mills building to the south, and the addition of a third flour manufacturer in the city. The City Mills building continued to function until about 1920, however, as an active manufacturer of flour, feed and meal.

Since the manufacture of flour ceased in the building in about 1920, the City Mills building has primarily functioned as a wholesale fruit and produce warehouse, beginning with the John Amicon Company in 1924. During the 1930s, it was occupied by the City Produce and Commission Company, and later, Sun Produce.

Building Description

The City Mills Building is a four-story building with a raised basement and clerestory roofline. Constructed of brick with a sandstone foundation, the mill occupies a prominent corner location. The building's prominent facade fronts on North Main Street, where the raised basement accommodates the rising slope of the street. The dominant architectural features of the building are intact, including the decorative parapet cornice, original slate roof, segmentally-arched windows, and front entrance with rounded limestone steps. The mill building is a landmark in the North Main Street area, with signage painted on the building by its occupant and early 20th-century successors still intact.

Windows throughout this building are segmentally arched and most retain their original four-over-four wood double-hung sash. Windows on the first and second stories are taller than those found in the upper two floors, reflecting the difference in ceiling height between these areas. Pairing of windows is found on the first floor and basement levels, and on the second and third floors of the main facade. Lintels consist of a double row of brick headers and the sills are made of sandstone. The building's fenestration includes five bays on the main (west) facade, six bays on the north elevation, and three bays on the rear (east) elevation. The south side elevation contains no windows on the upper floors and four openings on the ground story level.

The ground floor of the building has had the greatest change over the years, but these alterations have done little to alter the character of the building. The building's centrally-located main entrance appears to be early, but may be changed from the original. It is recessed into the building in an interior vestibule with paneling and windows to either side. The doorway features a wood door with three-quarter sidelights and a transom. Leading to the entrance are the original rounded limestone steps and limestone sidewalk, important features of the building. Two sets of paired windows to either side of the main entrance were converted to single enlarged windows with transoms, probably about 1920. Rounding the corner, the first two bays of the north elevation (the location of the building's office) have been similarly converted to double-hung windows with sidelights. The third bay was converted for use as a loading dock. Attached to the rear of the building at the location of the original boiler and engine room is a small, one-story concrete block addition.

A distinguishing feature of this building is the parapet and cornice treatment of the main facade. Above the fourth-floor bays is a projecting pressed metal cornice with paired brackets and frieze. Capping the building above the cornice is a decorative parapet that exhibits a classical treatment with sloped ends and a central shaped pavilion. The frieze is defined by pressed metal which extends to each corner and then follows the sloping roofline to meet the cornice of the side facades. At this location is a small vertical end piece and metal bracket which completes the parapet treatment of the main facade.

The roofline of City Mills is distinguished by the clerestory at the fourth floor level, designed to admit light to this upper-story space. A series of six bays on the north elevation are covered over but still intact. The south elevation at this level contained no windows. The clerestory walls retain their original slate covering.

The interior of the mill building has been well preserved in its present use as a warehouse, although mill machinery has been removed. Floors have generally open spaces, with unplastered brick walls, post and beam construction, wood floors and exposed floor joists. Later additions to the interior of the building included an office in the northwest corner of the first floor, and a freight elevator at the rear of the building. The first and second floors are distinguished by tall ceilings and chamfered posts and beams. The third floor has a lower ceiling and displays less attention to detail. The interior of the clerestory level has exposed wood truss roof construction. The basement of the building is still used by the current occupant, and was converted for cold storage of produce in the 1920s with the addition of several freezers.