HISTORY
SINCE 1913
Wilkins Rogers Mills was established in 1913 in Washington, D.C., when Howard Wilkins and Samuel Rogers purchased a flour mill near the waterfront in Georgetown. This mill produced soft wheat flours and feeds for customers throughout the Washington, D.C., metro area under the “Washington” brand.
During the 1930s, the company installed a corn mill and first started producing Indian Head brand corn meals. In the 1950s, WRM developed a variety of retail baking mixes such as the Washington Corn Muffin, Washington Corn Bread and Washington Yellow Cake mixes. These mixes, along with Indian Head Corn Meal and Washington Self-Rising Flour, were sold in grocery chains throughout the mid-Atlantic.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, WRM moved its operations from Washington, D.C., to its current headquarters in the historic milling town of Ellicott City, Maryland. The transition was completed in 1974, and the larger facility provided opportunities to expand production. In addition to being a vibrant flour mill and mix-packing facility, the Ellicott City mill began producing private label flours for various retail grocers in the 1970s. Today this facility has numerous flour-packing lines and is capable of producing and delivering flours and corn meals for commercial businesses of all sizes all along the eastern seaboard.
In 1972, WRM purchased Spanglers Flour Mill in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. Over the years, this mill has been expanded and upgraded, most significantly in 1994 when a second milling unit was added and grain storage was increased. Today, this mill offers its own unique capabilities to provide our customers with a broader array of options, in addition to supporting multi-mill supply chain backup and redundancy.
In 2008, WRM acquired its third mill, the Palmyra Milling Company in Palmyra, Pennsylvania. This mill has two separate milling units which provide extra capacity and flexibility to complement the other two mills.
THE NEXT 100 YEARS
WRM, which is still proudly owned and operated by the third generation of the Rogers family, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2013 and is prepared to extend its tradition of excellence into the next 100 years.
