Postum Cereal Company / Postum Cereal Company Factory
Posted by: 
S5280ft
N 42° 18.584 W 085° 09.692
16T E 651519 N 4685803
Located on the north side of Cliff Street, just east of Marjorie Street. Visitors parking available at the factory entrance.
Waymark Code: WM1A6A
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 03/11/2007
Views: 220
POSTUM CEREAL COMPANY
Charles William "C.W." Post (1854 ~ 1914) began his breakfast empire in 1892 when he opened La Vita Inn sanitarium on this site. Post's first commercial success occurred in 1894 when he created the hot beverage Postum. In 1896 he organized the Postum Cereal Company. His continued experiments with grains resulted in Grape-Nuts, his first cold cereal, in 1897. In 1908-09 sales from Grape-Nuts, Postum, and Post Toasties surpassed $5 million. Upon Post's death, his daughter Marjorie ran the company, continuing to advertise extensively, and expanding the product line. In 1929 Postum became the General Foods Corporation. The Philip Morris Company purchased General Foods in 1985, and the plant became part of Kraft Foods in 1989.
POSTUM CEREAL COMPANY FACTORY
Breakfast cereal production began on this site in 1894 when C.W. Post perfected his Postum drink. Remarkable as a factory with structures dating from as early as 1895, the complex reflects the evolution of cereal making. Post began commercial production from one barn. Eventually everything from research to grain processing to packaging occurred here. Known during the early 1900s as the "White City" because of the widespread use of white paint, the complex grew to include grain silos, a power plant offices, processing plants, a paper factory, and warehouses. Post had his office in the Elizabethan building at the center, which also housed the advertising department. It became the employee clubhouse in 1925.
Historical Name: Charles William "C.W." Post, Marjorie Post
Parking nearby?: yes
D/T ratings: 
website: [Web Link]
Registered Site #: State Site #678
Historical Date: Not listed
Description: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:Take a photo of your GPS at the marker. We'd prefer a photo of you with your GPS, but we realize that sometimes that's just not possible or preferable.
Also include a bit about your visit to the marker.
NEW: Instructions for logging Missing Marker Visits.
If the Marker is missing, but still listed here, you must provide a photo of you at the actual item historically honored. (This should be the waymark's "default" image). Indicate in your log that you took your photo at the Historical Location instead of the marker, because the marker was missing. Please also still include a bit about your visit to the site.