Beet Sugar
One of the first attempts in America to produce beet sugar was made in Michigan at White Pigeon late in the 1830s. The venture did not succeed though future governor John Barry went to Europe seeking to learn its production methods. In 1888 Dr. Robert C. Kedzie of Michigan Agricultural College began encouraging farmers in the state to grow sugar beets. At Bay City in 1898 the state's first successful factory opened. Thereafter the Saginaw Valley became the sugar bowl of Michigan.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesBarry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDigital Commonwealth, Boston Public LibraryDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesUSGS Historical Topographic Map Collection
Marker data: Michigan History Center
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