The Grain Merchants: An Illustrated History of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange

by Kenney, Dave

• ISBN13: 9781890434748
• ISBN10: 1890434744
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-10-02
• Publisher: Afton Historical Society Pr

Summary

In the fall of 1881, just one year after Minneapolis surpassed St. Louis as the nation's leading producer of flour, twenty-one prominent businessmen met in the basement of a fledging bank to create one of the Mill City's most enduring commercial enterprises. Known originally as the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Minne-apolis Grain Exchange provided a market for most of the grains grown in the rich, dark soil of the Upper Midwest, particularly the much-prized spring wheat. Throughout the decades, buyers and sellers on the trading floor engaged in elaborate rituals that helped move farmer's grain to the consumer's table. As its members traded thousands, then millions, then billions of dollars in cash grains and futures, the exchange grew into one of the premier grain markets in the world. It's been 125 years since the city's first generation of business leaders-millers and manufacturers, bankers and railroad men-founded the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. What began as an essential element in the making of modern Minneapolis, as well as personal and philanthropic fortune, continues to play a vital role in the city's and the region's economic success.

Author Biography

Dave Kenney is the author of several books on Minnesota his¡tory, including the state textbook Northern Lights: The Stories of Minnesota's Past, which won the Minnesota Book Award. He holds a B.A. in political science from St.Olaf College and an M.A. in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouriû Columbia. His articles on state and regional history have appeared in MPLS.ST.PAUL Magazine, Minnesota Monthly, Minnesota Medicine, and Minnesota Law and Politics.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 9
Acknowledgments	p. 11
Introduction	p. 12
Creating an Open Market To 1895	p. 17
More Than Grain: Social Responsibility	p. 55
Building Momentum 1895-1930	p. 59
More Than Grain: Public Parks	p. 97
Trading Places: The Buildings	p. 99
Enduring Market Pressures 1930-1970	p. 117
More Than Grain: Public Education	p. 158
Going Global 1970-2006	p. 161
Appendices	p. 203
Notes	p. 207
Credits	p. 211
Index	p. 213
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