EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third installment in an occasional series by Jim Boles exploring alternative medicine in Niagara County between 1830 and 1930.
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A rendering of Shredded Wheat Company’s “Palace of Light” in Niagara Falls, where shredded wheat cereal and Triscuit crackers were made from c.1901 until 1954.
Into the 20th century in the Niagara Region, because traditional medical care was not seen as reliable or effective, people often turned to heavily marketed “healthy” foods to cure their ills. Two giants of wheat-based food production had a foothold in Niagara County, one in Lockport and the other in Niagara Falls. Let’s look in on each of them briefly.
FRANKLIN MILLS COMPANY
In Lockport, the south bank of the Erie Canal beside the locks was home to many factories that utilized the powerful mill races to produce their products.
With a large painted Wheatlet sign on the side of a building, the Franklin Mills Company stood out to those traveling on the canal. The sign was also visible on the many period postcards of the locks at Lockport.
This post card titled “View of Locks, Lockport, N.Y.” shows Franklin Mills Company’s advertisement of Wheatlet on the old Spalding Mill storage building, seen at far left.
The business address of the company was 731 Spring St., at Garden Street — a significant distance from the canal and the mill race that was on the south bank. So, how did Franklin Mills receive waterpower?
I reached out to a local expert on canal mill races, Dr. Scott Geise. His records show that the Franklin Mills factory received power from both the south mill race on the canal and Eighteen Mile Creek. At the time Franklin Mills was operated, the mill race left the canal bank and ran southeast, crossing under Market Street and continuing to Garden Street. Research indicates the remains of the Franklin Mills plant, originally raised in 1833, can now be found at 31 Exchange St.
This line drawing found in Lockport Public Library’s local history files depicts Franklin Mills Company’s six-story factory at 731 Spring St.
Franklin Mills Company’s main products, Wheatlet (a breakfast food) and Franklin Mills Flour, were credited with numerous health benefits.
From the American Medico-Surgical Bulletin, 1897: “The Franklin Mills Company, containing as it does all the phosphates, mineral salts, and gluten of the entire wheat, is recommended by many physicians for use in the preparation of food for those suffering from weak stomach, because it is easily digestible. Nourishing as it does every part of the body, it is held to be especially valuable in the diet of children.”
Wheatlet was described as an unrefined/unbleached natural food that could offer relief of nervousness, indigestion, irritability and a morose disposition (depression), and help with “clever” work such as writing.
In 2025, the remains of the fire-stricken Franklin Mills Company factory are found at 31 Exchange St., Lockport. The center section bears a stone block at the top dated 1833. The building is now used by Elegant Surfaces, a manufacturer of MDF (medium density fiber) cabinet doors.
Franklin Mills Flour was proclaimed to be “the fine flower of the entire wheat” and a brain food. It would help every nerve tissue / feed the nerves and the nervous and debilitated would be assisted.
Franklin Mills Company occupied the six-story building at 731 Spring St. from 1877 until 1907, when fire destroyed the production plant. After the fire, the company reorganized and consolidated its operations at Batavia.
SHREDDED WHEAT COMPANY
In 1901, because of inexpensive electric power and the powerful image of Niagara Falls as a force of nature, the Natural Food Conservatory moved its operations to the city of Niagara Falls. Its factory, built to overlook the rapids of the Niagara River, was known as the Palace of Light, appointed with white tile, bright lights and many amenities for workers including a free hot lunch, rest breaks, air conditioners, showers, and a health and welfare fund that covered sickness, injury and burial expenses.
A view of the ladies lunch room at Natural Food Conservatory, later renamed Shredded Wheat Company, in Niagara Falls.
The name was changed to Shredded Wheat Company in 1908. Although the company had many factories, its Niagara Falls site was very well known because of its promotion as a tourist attraction drawing thousands of visitors per year.
The early history of the company goes back to 1895 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Known as the Cereal Machine Company, its products were Granulated Wheat-Shred, Wheat-Shred Drink, Shredded Cereal Coffee, Wheat-Shred Baby Food and shredding machines.
Advertisement for Triscuit, “the electric baked biscuit,” in Current Literature, August 1903.
In Niagara Falls, the Shredded Wheat Company’s main products were Shredded Whole Wheat Biscuit and Triscuit. The touted health benefits of either product were: promotes an active brain; can be used as a “spring tonic”; builds muscles and bone; builds strength and an entirely healthy body.
Local production of shredded wheat and Triscuits at the Palace of Light ceased in 1954, when Nabisco — which had bought out Shredded Wheat Co. in 1928 — shifted operations to its warehouse at what is now Rainbow Boulevard at 10th Street.
Parts of the Palace of Light on Buffalo Avenue were demolished in 1963. For a time, the remaining office building was used by Niagara County Community College as a college office and classrooms. That building, sometimes referenced as “Nabisco U” or “Shredded U,” was demolished in 1976.
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Thanks to the Niagara County Historical Society, the Niagara County Historians Office, Lockport Public Library, Dr. Scott Geise, Kyle Condren from Elegant Surfaces, and Lockport realtor Maureen Walck for information shared about the Franklin Mills Company.
Lockport native Jim Boles, EdD., is a retired CEO of People Inc., a Western New York health and human service agency. He now writes about local history, is interested in promoting cultural tourism in Niagara County and serves on the board of the Niagara County Historical Society.
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