New Prague Area Historical Society

06/18/2026

Do you recognize any names on this 1984 Plant Seniority List? We recognize many!

Join us on our tour on July 11th from 10am to 2pm.
Tickets here: https://www.npareahistory.com/event-details/the-historic-flour-mill-tour

We will have Udder Buddies Ice Cream joining us for the event!

The New Prague Mill

06/17/2026

The flour produced at New Prague’s historic flour mill was shipped worldwide.

We learned about high-protein flour, how it was made, and who purchased it from the former mill workers as we filmed our video for July 11th’s tour.

The wheat was sampled and tested, then, if it was determined to be of approved quality, the wheat would be accepted, unloaded into the bins based on its protein, then mixed and fed appropriate to each recipe of flour into the mill.

High-protein flour, preferred for bagels, was shipped as bulk flour (not bagged) by train car or truck to bakeries in New York.
If you like these short clips, we cannot wait to share the full video with you at our Historic Flour Mill Tour.

Join us for our open house-style tour to learn more about the milling process and the mill’s history.

July 11th
10:00am-2:00pm

Please highly consider purchasing your tickets in advance to ensure that you receive a tour booklet and map.

Purchase tickets online at https://www.npareahistory.com/event-details/the-historic-flour-mill-tour

For those who prefer to pay with check or cash, please contact Kristin Schroers at (507) 420-9580 to reserve a ticket.

06/15/2026

These sifters are located at a desk in the A Mill.

What do you think they were used for?

Join us on July 11th for our Historic Flour Mill Tour. It is an open house-style event where you will have access to various places in the mill to experience the greatness of its history and impact on our community.

Tickets are $15 and we prefer that you purchase them in advance for your best your experience as it allows us time for printing and planning.

https://www.npareahistory.com/meetings-events

06/13/2026

On Wednesday, we met with Larry and Mark to walk through the milling process from wheat to flour. What a fascinating experience and we cannot wait to share the video and experience with you at our Historic Flour Mill Tour on July 11th.

It is amazing to learn how machines that have served the mill since it’s origin are still in place and ran until the mill’s closing in 2019.

The historic mill is an imposing structure in New Prague, holding a past that has influenced the community in countless ways. As a place of employment for many locals who dedicated decades of their careers to flour milling, the prominent Bean family who started it in the late 1800’s, and its influence on our local community, The Mill opens its doors for history enthusiasts, community members, former employees, and all those interested in learning more about its story.

Hosted by the New Prague Area Historical Society, in partnership with The Mill, we invite you to experience the past and present—what the mill was from its founding in 1896, to what businesses call it home today, and the potential it has for additional life to be brought back into its walls!

Your ticket includes: https://www.npareahistory.com/event-details/the-historic-flour-mill-tour

-A self-guided tour
-Museum-like experience
-Audio history of mill workers’ memories
-$3 off Udder Buddies Premium Vanilla Ice Cream, made with fresh milk sourced from a local farm

For those who prefer to pay with check or cash, please contact Kristin Schroers at (507) 420-9580 to reserve a ticket.

The main level of the mill’s interior is handicap accessible. Upper and lower levels require stairs to access. Knowing that some patrons will be unable to navigate the stairs, we plan to create a worthwhile experience on the ground level accessible to all.

Proceeds from the tour will go to the New Prague Area Historical Society.

06/12/2026

All Aboard the 4th of July Train! We are happy to spread the word about Gopher State Railway Museum's 4th of July event.

They've done great work restoring historic train cars, including that of James J. Hill.

Go support them at this event if you are able!

🚂 ALL ABOARD THE 4TH OF JULY TRAIN! 🚂

Celebrate Independence Day with a ride on the historic trains at the Gopher State Railway Museum!

Join us on Saturday, July 4, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM for a day of family fun, railroad history, and patriotic celebration.

🎟 Admission:
• Adults: $10
• Children under 16: $5
• Children under 2: FREE

🌭 Every paid admission includes:
• 1 Hot Dog
• 1 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 1 Bottled Water

🚂 Historic Train Rides
🍔 Food & Refreshments
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Fun for the Whole Family

📍 Gopher State Railway Museum
25501 Helena Blvd, New Prague, MN

Be sure to visit our Facebook Event page and click "Going" to let us know you'll be joining us! Inviting your friends and sharing the event helps us spread the word and make this year's celebration even bigger.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1K1n7GJqy7/

06/09/2026

Shown here are two fabric patterns from Cinderella Flour sacks.

Did you, or a family member, sew using fabric from flour sacks?

This article shares that sewing from feed or flour sacks began out of necessity and could demonstrate that your family was struggling financially. During the 1930s, the use of feed and flour sacks widened, and companies used flour and feed sacks patterns and colors as part of their marketing strategy. The cotton sacks were replaced with paper sacks during World War II, and then back to cotton afterward. Women continued to sew from feed and flour sacks through the 1950's.

"However, the art of sewing feed sacks was not lost- county and state fairs, amongst other organizations, continued to hold sewing contests for feed sack garments at least through to the 1960's."

https://helensclosetpatterns.com/blogs/helens-closet/fashion-history-feed-sack-fashion

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Saturday, July 11th
Open House
10am to 2pm

Options for purchasing tickets include:
1. Online at https://www.npareahistory.com/.../the-historic-flour-mill...
2. Reserve & Pay at the Door (cash or check only) by texting or calling Kristin Schroers at (507) 420-9580
3. Pay at the Door without Reservation (cash or check only)
**Options 1 & 2 are preferred for planning purposes and to provide you with your best tour experience.

06/08/2026

A repeated question we've received is:

If we plan on attending our Historic Flour Mill Tour, can we purchase tickets at the door, or do we need to purchase them in advance?

Options for purchasing tickets include:
1. Online at https://www.npareahistory.com/event-details/the-historic-flour-mill-tour
2. Reserve & Pay at the Door (cash or check only) by texting or calling Kristin Schroers at (507) 420-9580
3. Pay at the Door without Reservation (cash or check only)

It is highly recommended to purchase online or reserve tickets in advance, as it assists us in planning.

Benefits of Purchasing a Ticket or Reserving your Ticket in advanced:
1. You will receive a tour booklet containing your map of accessible places, descriptions of each location, a history of the mill, and information about the four prominent homes connected to the Bean and Harvey families. Those who purchase at the door are not guaranteed a booklet, which may minimize the quality of your self-guided tour.
-If you've been on our Garden Tour or Trolley Tour, this booklet will be similar. It is a multi-page, professionally printed booklet that you can bring home.

2. We are ordering chairs and tables based on the number of tickets sold.

3. We are creating and printing high-quality posters to share the history of the mill and the dedicated employees. The more tickets we sell, the greater our budget will be for printing.

4. Kids Under 12--We want to plan for you and provide you with tour resources at your level! We have a few kids attending the tour at this time. If you plan on bringing your young kids, please reserve a free ticket for them.

Join us in experiencing a day at the historic New Prague Mill! Enjoy a self-guided tour, museum-like gallery including photographs, artifacts, and history of the mill, listen to audio from former mill workers, see what The Mill is being shaped into, and cool down with ice cream from Udder Buddies.

06/07/2026

Throughout the mill there are little details hinting at what day-to-day activity may have looked like in the over a century of milling that took place there. From hand-painted signs, to the beautifully weathered wood floors, to a radio hanging on the wall these small hints show the life of the mill.

When you join us on our self-guided tour, you’ll have access to many areas of the mill to see for yourself!

This week, we are meeting with a few former mill workers to record a video dictating what each piece of milling equipment did and how many men manned each area/floor.

Attend our Historic Flour Mill Tour on July 11th to see this video and take in the vastness and little details of the mill.

Tickets: https://www.npareahistory.com/event-details/the-historic-flour-mill-tour

What do you want to know about the mill or milling process?

06/06/2026

As we go through our collection to prepare for the Historical Flour Mill Tour at The New Prague Mill , we find time and time again that the mill was not only an imposing structure in our community, but was a business of great impact.

The mill workers dedicated their careers to working locally under the three companies that owned the mill through its over 120 years of business.

Do you recognize any of the workers pictured in these photographs?

You do not want to miss out on this event! The mill is incredible!
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Saturday, July 11th
Open House
10am to 2pm

Reserve Your $15 Ticket at:
https://www.npareahistory.com/event-details/the-mill-tour

If you prefer to pay with cash or check, please email us at [email protected], or contact us at 507-420-9580

Your ticket includes:
A self-guided tour
Museum-like experience
Audio history of mill workers’ memories
$3 off Udder Buddies Premium Vanilla Ice Cream

We prefer that you purchase your tickets in advance, as it will give you access to a tour booklet and help us in planning.

Proceeds from the tour will go to the New Prague Area Historical Society.

06/02/2026

Come check out the new display at the New Prague Library!