Valley City Milling Company

Louis C. Towner - 1911

The view looks east and slightly north from the west side of the Grand River. The Valley City Milling Co., maker of Lilly White Flour, was located at the corner of Scribner and the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad just north of Fulton where the railroad bridge crossed the river. Just above the Mercer & Ferdon Lumber sign a railroad car and some tracks can been seen. The Model Mills was a division of Valley City Milling. The Grand Rapids Brass Company, whose logo can be seen on the water tank, was at 66-90 Scribner. By 1911 the Mercer and Ferdon Co. had changed its name to the Grand Rapids Lumber Co. Through the haze the tower of the County Court House can be seen between the two smokestacks near the center of the photo. The tallest smokestack in the photo belongs to the Raniville Building located in the block between Pearl and Lyon, and Campau and the Grand River.