In early Chicago, one of the most important food processing activities was the milling of grain.

As early as the 1830s, Chicago had contained steam-powered flour mills located near the Chicago River. After the Civil War, other kinds of milling operations settled close to Chicago, including Morris.

In 1844, Conrad Elderding was born in LaSalle County. He learned the milling trade from his father at an early age, and by 1869, owned a mill in Morris. By the end of the 19th century, Elderding engaged exclusively in the manufacture of rolled oats.

In 1902, Conrad Elerding and W. G. Norton formed the Morris Oatmeal Company. Ground was broken in 1912 for the four-story building shown in this divided back era postcard. The plant, shown in the then photograph, consisted of a mill and packing building, warehouses boiler and kiln drying rooms, a steel-covered elevator, and offices. Tracks from the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroads ran into the property of the company. At the time of its inception, the mill produced nearly 300 barrels of rolled oats, including rolled oats, pearl barley and mill feed. The products of his mill reached many markets in the United States and Europe. During its tenure in Morris, the plant always was known to pay the highest market price to farmers for oats, barley, corn and wheat. The city of Morris even received free advertising from the packages of oatmeal and barley, which bore the city’s name.

Quaker Oaks did not renew its lease in 1921, and for many years, the four-story plant remained vacant. In November 1982, the Quaker Oats elevator and brick mill building were torn down. The tall elevator between Liberty and Wauponsee Streets was razed. By September 1996, the last remnant of the old complex was removed.

Today, the lot, shown in the now photograph, remains vacant and is used for storage.