On The Record, Vol. [3], No. [1], Ed. 1 Friday, June 17, 2011 Page: 25 of 44
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Denton Mill, Landmark Thrives
A handful of dark red letters spelling
"Morrison's Corn Kits" tower over the
Denton skyline, keeping an eye on the
city it has overlooked for more than 100
years.
Since opening in 1886 as the Alliance
Milling Company the Morrison Milling
Company in Denton still distributes
food and ingredients throughout North
Texas.
Located off Industrial Street in east
Denton, the landmark is known for its
neon sign and cream colored walls.
The business was founded by a group
of wheat farmers who met to mill grain
into flour and sell it.
"They realized people wanted some-
thing that was convenient, so they started
selling these prepared mixes that had all
the baking soda and salt already there,"
said Mike Longan, the production planner
for the Morrison Milling Company. "That's
pretty much the way the whole food
industry has gone now everything is
convenience-driven."
The Morrison family bought the busi-
ness in 1936, and in the 1960s the mill
began producing 'corn-kits' containing
ingredients to bake cornbread, muffins
and other products.
The company was bought by C.H.
Guenther and Son, Inc. in 2006. Longan
said the San Antonio-based company
helped renovate the mill and expand
" That's pretty
much the way the
whole food
industry has gone
now—everyt ng
is
convenience
driven, mm
business. He said Morrison Milling still
produces products like Peter Pan peanut
butter, but Guenther has changed it to a
national business.
"Today, our business is primarily corpo-
rate restaurant chains," Longan said. "We
still make a lot of retail products, but as a
percentage, [restaurant chains] are much
bigger. There's not a restaurant chain you
can think of that we don't do some kind
of business with."
Longan said the mill employs about
100 people and purchases most of its
parts and equipment locally. It buys
almost all the grain from farmers
in North Texas and Oklahoma, he
said.
Longan said the mill is also
involved in nearly every local restau-
rant in Denton on some level.
After the business evolved over the
years, the public may see a future
change in the mill's iconic sign.
Longan said the company could
replace its neon 'Corn-Kits' with
LED lights.
"We're looking at the possibility of
how to do it with LEDs that would be
more green, and we could run it off
of solar power," Longan said. "We're
looking at different options."
-Isaac Wright, Senior Staff Writer
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Zucker, Shaina. On The Record, Vol. [3], No. [1], Ed. 1 Friday, June 17, 2011, periodical, June 17, 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth209154/m1/25/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .