The flour mill had a major explosion on May 23, 1975. Two workers were killed instantly, and two more died in the hospital. Five others were hospitalized. [BrightHub numbers vs. Facebook comment numbers]
Flour mill operations resumed the week after the disaster, but it took a year to rebuild the elevator. [DavenportLibrary] I have not been able to find when the facility was removed from the riverfront.
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| Davenport Iowa History posted Robin Hood Flour - 1947 Pictured is the Robin Hood flour mills of the International Milling Company, 803-823 E. River Street, as seen from the Mississippi River. In 1947, the International Milling Company also operated mills in Detroit, Buffalo, and Baldwinsville, New York. They also had a prospective plant opening in Cleveland and on November 3rd, purchased the Capitol Elevator Company of Duluth. In 1947, local housewives could purchase a 5 lb. bag of Robin Hood flour for 43-cents. Originally established in 1892 as the Riverside Milling Co., it was purchased by the Western Flour Mills Co. in July of 1904. The mill manufactured flour and feed and was known for its Goldrim brand flour. In 1942, the name was changed to Robin Hood Mills of the International Milling Co. Tragically, on Friday, May 23, 1975, a spark ignited the dust inside one of the big grain silos causing a huge explosion, which left four dead, five injured and reduced much of the facility to rubble and debris. The blast blew windows open in the Davenport Bank and Trust building a half-mile away. |
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| Retro Quad Cities posted May 1975 Davenport aftermath of the Robin Hood Flour silo explosion.iving Memory History: The Robin Hood Flour Mill Explosion Posted on May 24, 2010 by SCblogger History is full of landmark events—world, national, local— which bring people together to compare notes: Did you see it? Did you hear it?What were you doing? Were you there? Those in downtown Davenport experienced their own landmark event around noon on May 23, 1975, when a massive explosion on the riverfront shook the city. Doors flew open from the percussion and windows shattered, throwing jagged spears of glass to the sidewalks. People ran outside to find out what had happened—most thought it was an earthquake, some thought it was a bomb. Others worried that the Rock Island Arsenal was the source of the blast. Sirens filled the air and a helicopter flew in and stopped near the Mississippi River. The curious ran in that direction or headed for high vantage points—the upper floors of the Blackhawk Hotel or the Kahl Building—to get a better view of East River Drive. And what a view there was. Half of the International Multifoods complex seemed to have lifted up and collapsed onto the other half. The large profile of Robin Hood on one of the riverside buildings—which had given the place its local nickname, the “Robin Hood Flour Mill”—appeared to have launched itself into the Mississippi. Pieces of reinforced concrete had been thrown at least a hundred feet in every direction. A grain barge near the edge of the river had sunk under the debris. But what could have caused such destruction? Such a simple thing: a spark had ignited the dust inside a grain silo—one of the big ones, with a capacity of 1.8 million pounds of wheat —which had exploded with devastating force. Seven people were trapped on the remaining roofs of the complex and the firefighter’s ladders couldn’t reach two of them—one in an area that was at risk for a second explosion. A military helicopter came to assist. Five ambulances, plus one from Arsenal Island, took the seriously injured away to the disaster stations, where all area doctors had been told to report. Five employees were in critical condition and were later moved to burn centers. One body had already been found in the wreckage: Ferrell Cleeton of Davenport. By the time the Quad-City Times came out that evening, his was the only confirmed death, though three people were still reported missing. It was thought that one man had been blown into the river. By May 26, cranes were clearing the rubble and an auger was expected to soon clear the still-smoldering grain from the bottom of the silo. Only one worker was still unaccounted for: Leon Robinson of Milan, Illinois—the man who had been seen in a control tower on the levee barely a minute before the blast. His fellow workers protested the machinery, wanting to hand-search the wreckage in case their friend was still alive. But time was passing, and the next day, a barge from the U.S. Corps of Engineers carried a crane from LeClaire to help lift debris from the sunken barge. On May 29, the bucket of the crane pulled Mr. Robinson’s body from where it had been trapped underneath the wreckage. The Scott County medical examiner reported that he had died before he and his tower had hit the water, though this was scant consolation for his family and friends. Total damages to the complex were estimated to be three to five million dollars. Although a new grain elevator would take almost a year to build, flour mill operations resumed the week after the disaster, as that part of the complex had been the least damaged. The plant was able to keep a large number of its employees occupied with cleaning and salvaging work—over 400,000 bushels of grain needed to be removed from the undamaged silos. Soon, the only evidence of the disaster was the absence of the familiar logo, which was not replaced. Retro Quad Cities shared |
This photo taught me that the mill was upstream of Lock #15.
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| Davenport Iowa History posted Robin Hood Flour Mill As the tugboat Ann Brent pushes barges through lock and dam No. 15, Robin Hood Flour stands as a familiar backdrop along the Davenport shoreline. The Robin Hood Flour Mill was located at 803 E. River Dr. beginning in 1942. It was previously known as the Western Flour Mill, home of "Goldrim" flour, and before that the Riverside Milling Co., established in 1892. Tragically, in May 1975, a spark ignited the dust inside one of the big grain silos causing a huge explosion, which left four dead, five injured and reduced much of the facility to rubble and debris. The blast blew windows open in the Davenport Bank and Trust building a half-mile away. |
I used an old aerial photo to find that it was at the end of Federal Avenue.
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| 1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
The mill employed about a 100 workers, but many of the employees were away because the explosion happened during the lunch hour. A helicopter had to rescue some of the workers that were trapped on the roof of the remaining portion of the mill. [bettgrowl]
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| Google search result because GenDisasters' web page is broke |
What's Going on Quad Cities posted three photos with the comment:
“BOOM ON THE RIVER: The Forgotten Explosion That Shook Davenport”It was just past noon on May 23, 1975, when downtown Davenport shook like never before. A deafening blast rocked the Robin Hood Flour Mill on the riverfront, sending a concrete silo sky-high and grain dust raining down over the city. Windows shattered in buildings half a mile away. A nearby barge? Sunk under the weight of flying debris.The cause? A spark…likely from an overheated machine bearing…that ignited a pocket of flour dust inside one of the mill’s grain elevators. What followed was one of the most violent industrial explosions in Quad Cities history.Four workers lost their lives in the disaster:• Ferrell Cleeton, Davenport• Leon Robinson, Milan, Illinois• Richard C. Smock• Fred RyherdSeveral others were critically injured. The blast left seven people stranded on unstable rooftops, and rescue efforts became so dangerous that a military helicopter had to assist in airlifting victims to safety. Firefighters and first responders braved clouds of dust and debris to pull survivors from the rubble.The explosion caused between $3 to $5 million in damage. Flour operations resumed astonishingly fast…within a week…though rebuilding the grain elevator took nearly a year. For those who lived nearby or worked at the plant, the blast wasn’t just loud…it was unforgettable. It shook homes, broke windows, and altered the city skyline in seconds.To this day, longtime residents still remember where they were when it happened. It was a moment that physically and emotionally rocked the city of Davenport.To the families of Ferrell, Leon, Richard, and Fred: we offer our deepest condolences.They were husbands, fathers, friends, and hard-working men whose lives were cut tragically short. Their memory remains part of the history of this community, and we honor them by remembering their names, their sacrifice, and the impact they had on all who knew them.Their stories will not be forgotten.
Lake Jerry: My Dad and myself were on the Gov bridge went it blew. We were the first on the scene. My Dad was a firefighter off duty that day. I redirected traffic until the police showed.
Mc Margo: I was a student at McKinley Elementary and felt the building rattle (approx 2 miles away) & no one at the school knew what happened. I found out at dinner time at home. The paper the next morning showed a picture of a guy hanging from the top of a silo (he was blown up there and still alive) was haunting to see and is still fresh in my memories (I'm in my 60's now).
[There are several comments about where they were when it blew and what rattled.]
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| 1953 Davenport East Quad @ 24,000 |
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| Retro Quad Cities posted 1975 Davenport Riverfront. Christopher Smith: You can see where the remains of the flour plant are... I remember French and Hecht being down there too because of the huge stack. Our company is in the West end so we'd drive through town a lot as kids. I was one when this was taken. Retro Quad Cities: This record is from the Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive, http://www.umvphotoarchive.org, a collaborative project of cultural heritage organizations in the Iowa-Illinois Mississippi River region. Retro Quad Cities shared Michael Scheel: Be nice to see a current aerial shot to compare. |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Michael's comment https://maps.app.goo.gl/tavhiqcq8P15WCLc8 |
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