(RE)COVERED: Reclaimed Timber from Pillsbury

July 7, 2015     / / /

reclaimed timber from Pillsbury

Have you ever walked into your kitchen in the morning and been greeted by the sweet familiar smell of cinnamon rolls? Not just any cinnamon rolls though, Pillsbury cinnamon rolls that melt in your mouth with an embrace of warm, cinnamon-y sweetness. Now imagine having a kitchen that does that all the time.

Bring the warmth and comfort of Pillsbury to your kitchen permanently with the help of Reclaimed Timber Products. You can now incorporate Pillsbury into the very walls of your kitchen with the reclaimed timber from the deconstructed Pillsbury Plant in Springfield, Illinois.

Built in 1929, the Pillsbury Mill occupied the corner of 15th and Phillips streets in Springfield, IL. The plant continued to grow through the next decade adding a 2 million-bushel wheat storage elevator and a fifth floor to the specialty building. Later, a $1 million addition was revealed to double the plant’s capacity. The Springfield Pillsbury enterprise was one of the most technologically advanced operations in the country in the 1930’s.

reclaimed timber from PillsburyThe Springfield Pillsbury Mill in October 1937. (Photo from: The State Journal-Register)

This plant reached its peak in the years after World War II, employing 1,500 people. The whole complex was comprised of 20 buildings and warehouses and 30 grain silos. They manufactured mainly Pillsbury’s Best flour but also featured specialty items such as wheat cereal, Farina Health Bran, pancake flour, wheat and buckwheat flour and doughnut flour. This plant’s production slowly decreased through the 1970’s and 1980’s and finally closed in 2001 when General Mills bought out Pillsbury.

Reclaimed timberAlthough the Pillsbury Plant has closed and been torn down, it’s history continues to live in its wood. We reclaimed approximately 180,000 BF (board foot) of Douglas Fir timber from Pillsbury that is filled with the warmth and history of this company, its products and its workers. It still needs a new home. Allow this old lumber to tell its story again and give it new life in your home!

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