Queen Bee Mill At Sioux Falls

The building in the first photo is the Turbine House of the Queen Bee Mill. This mill used the power of falling water to grind flour using the first steel milling machines in the Midwest. The existence of this mill lead to the founding of the town of Sioux Falls. A number of local farmers wanted to build a large mill, but they lacked funding for this project. They pitched their business plan to a Minneapolis bank to secure a loan. The bankers were concerned about adequate water flow in the river to power a mill, especially through the dry summer months, so they sent a bank representative to Sioux Falls to observe the river in August. Local farmers knew that flow needed to be increased to impress the banker, so they built a dam up stream and released the water just as the banker went to view the falls. Water poured over the falls. The banker was impressed and the farmers got their loan. Unfortunately the Queen Bee Mill only operated for two years due to two problems. First, there were not enough local wheat growers to supply the mill, and second, the Big Sioux River lacked enough water to keep the mill running during the dry summer months. So the City of Sioux Falls was founded on fraud and deception, but the city prospered as it became a rail road center.