History

In 1899, several Detroit businessmen gathered to discuss building a mill for the production of sugar from beets.  To encourage the mill to be built in Rochester, several local citizens raised money and bought 30 acres of land northwest of town located off Woodward Street just north of downtown Rochester near the old Woodward School.  Construction began in February 1899 with an investment of $500,000.  The Detroit Sugar Mill was allowed to use the property in order to build the mill and begin production.  Sugar beets were a popular crop at the time.  Thirty cents per row was paid for weeding the beets that were later turned into molasses and sugar.  However, as The Rochester Era mused, "The one point which farmers are universally interested is as to whether or not the raising of beets is a profitable industry for them…no one is able to give a very accurate estimate of their profits or losses."   Despite the uncertainty, farmers brought their beets to the mill where they were weighed and tested and ground to sugar.  The first year of mill operation was a success; three million pounds of sugar were produced.  The industry, with the Detroit United Railway nearby, looked to be very profitable.

In 1903, the most profitable year for the mill occurred; 40,000 tons of beets were transformed into 9,600,00 pounds of sugar.  Ironically, 1903 was also the year that the U.S. government faced a budget surplus, allowing it to remove tariffs on Cuban sugar.  The Cuban sugar price fell far below American beet sugar leading to a decrease in demand for domestic sugar.  Also, some farmers produced poorer quality beets due to the soil condition.  This angered some farmers because they were paid based on the saccharine content of the beets; poorer soil yielded lower saccharine content.  That caused some farmers to reduce acreage devoted to beet production.  In 1904, Manager Parker and mill representatives implored farmers to subscribe more acreage for beet production.  The pleas did not help and the mill, in only five short years, was closed.

Many blamed the farmers for not growing enough but that was one of many factors that caused the company to fail.  Poor management, immense freight charges, long lines for farmers, unsuitable soil and climate, and Cuban sugar all aided in the mill's closure.  The mill was sold at a fraction of the cost to parties in Wisconsin.  The Detroit Sugar Mill was torn down in 1906; some of the bricks were used to build homes in Rochester.  The property was deeded to the village in 1909.  In 1925, the property was turned into a baseball field, led by the efforts of Fred Halbach.  In 1936, the field was named Halbach Field.  Today, Halbach Field, Jaycee Field, and the Rochester Public Works occupy the site where the Detroit Sugar Mill once stood.