
Chillicothe, Missouri ~ The Home of Sliced Bread
Posted by:
YoSam.
N 39° 47.276 W 093° 33.067
15S E 452811 N 4404365
Looking for the old train depot I stumbled upon this marker, and discovered that the city of Chillicothe was known for this event.
Waymark Code: WMJ8AV
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 10/10/2013
Views: 10
County of Marker: Livingston County
Location of Marker: 1st St. & Elm St., Chillicothe
Marker Erected by: Home of Sliced Bread Committee
Marker Text:
CHILLICOTHE, MISSOURI
The Home of Sliced Bread
On July 7, 1928, Chillicothe baker Frank Bench and Inventor Otto Rohwedder secured Chillicothe Missouri's Slice of History. On this day their bread slicing machine produced the first loaves of sliced bread and made them available on the shelves of Chillicothe grocery stores.
The Machine instantly changed the way consumers bought bread and increased the bakery's sales by 2000 percent in 2 weeks. Until this invention, which has long been synonymous with innovation, bread had to be slicked by hand in home kitchens.
At approximately five feet long and four feet high, the device was the invention of Iowa native O.F. Rohwedder. His machine was turned down by many bakers before being offered to Frank Bench. The original machine used at Chillicothe Baking Company eventually fell apart; however Rohwedder's second machine is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute.
This building, located at the corner of First and Elm Streets, is the home of the bread slicing machine.