Croswell, MI: 102 Michigan/Sanilac Sugar Company

(Satellite)

Michigan Sugar Company posted 12 photos with the comment:

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Today, we are going back to 1902 and the construction and early days of operation of the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's factory in Croswell. This factory, of course, became part of Michigan Sugar Company in 1906 when the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company, along with five other sugar companies, joined forces to form the new entity.

The factory was equipped with a Steffens process and pulp dryer and had an original capacity to slice 600 tons of sugarbeets per day. Today, the factory can slice more than 5,000 tons per day.

We hope you enjoy this sweet trip down memory lane.

Brad Lewis: Michigan has the oldest sugar refinery in the country is in Caro Michigan 1886 it is built . I helped in the huge expansion project at the Monitor sugar refinery in bay city Michigan in 1986 making it the largest sugar refinery east of the Mississippi River.

1
Here is a view of the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's factory, with the boiler house in the foreground, taken in 1902 shortly after the factory became operational.

2
A crew of iron workers and painters pose for this 1902 photo of the southwest corner of the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company in Croswell. At the time, the filter press frames were being hoisted to the fifth floor of the building.

3
Here is a 1902 view of the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company from the west showing the main building, lime house, and lime kilns partially completed.

4
Here is a look at the centrifugal area of the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's Croswell factory taken in 1902.

5
Here is a look at the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's 14 boilers with Murphy stokers used to power the company's Croswell factory after startup on Oct. 15, 1902.

6
Here is a look at the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's Croswell factory diffusion battery that shows the chip carrier and hydraulic belt shifter arrangement as it was on Oct. 1, 1902.

7
Looking east on the fifth floor of the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's Croswell factory, you can see the factory's evaporators on the right, crystalizers at left, and the exhaust relief valve in the foreground. This photo was taken shortly after the start of operations in 1902.

8
On Oct. 12, 1902, the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company tested the sugar end engine, shown here, at its factory in Croswell. The engine passed the test that day.

9
Here is a view of workers posed on the west side of the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's Croswell factory during construction in 1902. Visible inside the building are the factory's coolers and pulp press.

10
Looking east, here is a view of the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's Croswell factory while under construction in 1902. At left, you can see the hoist system that was used to place the factory's crystalizers.

11
Taken in 1902, this photo shows a crew of carpenters working to construct the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's beet storage sheds in Croswell. During construction, materials were hauled up the ramp and then hoisted to the proper place for installation.

12
Taken on Nov. 1, 1902, this photo shows the Sanilac Sugar Refining Company's completed beet storage shed in Croswell. During harvest, sugarbeets would have been hauled by horse-drawn wagons up the ramp into the shed.

MichiganSugar

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