Historical Location of the Menominee River Sugar Co.

The era following World War I was marked by significant social, cultural, and economic changes in the country. After World War I, the United States experienced economic prosperity and rapid growth. Industries like manufacturing, automobiles, and consumer goods saw tremendous expansion, leading to increased production and job opportunities in agriculture to meet the demands of the country. During this time, sugar beet companies first relied on European immigrants but as they joined the urban revolution, companies were forced to seek a new source of labor, beginning the recruitment of Mexicans and Tejanos/as. The Menominee River Sugar Co. is relevant to this analysis as it contributed to the campaign of labor recruitment. 

Despite criticism from skeptics who claimed Menominee was too far north to properly grow sugar beets, the Menominee River Company convinced investors that it could compete with the nation's major sugar producers. Heading up the list of local shareholders was Samuel M. Stephenson[1], he invested $100,000 in the beet sugar industry, and following a period of distrust towards the industry due to charges of unfair business practices, Trust Executives Arthur Donner and Charles R. Heike invested $300,000 to acquire 36% of Menominee River Sugar Company’s stock. The harsh spring and fall frosts, however, proved fatal to a crop of young beets in Michigan's upper peninsula, where the growing season is around forty days shorter than in the state's lower peninsula. Official recognition by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1898 of the importance of the sugar beet industry sparked the construction of beet sugar companies, one of which was the Menominee River Sugar Company in 1903[2], all they needed was farmers to produce the beets. Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University)[3] played a significant role by encouraging farmers to plant sugar beets test plots, optimism rose when the USDA announced favorable results, no crop in history had the potential of such high return.

               During the era of the First World War, Mexican migrants from Texas and Mexico were pulled northward by a number of employment opportunities including sugar companies, railroads, agriculture, and manufacturing. These migratory networks were often seasonal, but many decided to settle permanently due to higher wages and difficulties with constant travel. Some key factors contributed to their recruitment, such as immigration policies and labor shortages. George T. Edson stated that “Mexicans are largely replacing the Belgians and German Russians formerly used as laborers in the sugar beet fields of… Michigan… and now compromise from 75% to 90% of this class of agricultural workers”[4]

A combination of labor agencies, word of mouth, and advertisements (often written in Spanish) spread the news of opportunities throughout the Great Lakes region. For example, one advertisement, produced in 1926, describes the “need for families and single men to work in the agricultural and beet fields of Menominee River Sugar Co., Menominee, Michigan.” The company paid “$23.00 per acre” and, “as a bonus,” guaranteed “travel money to get there as well as a house and land for vegetable gardening.” Another bonus seemingly included the opportunity to “get yourself and your family out of the smoke of the city to the fields and pure air. “The processing plants were in Michigan and Wisconsin and the company’s contact office was in Chicago. By comparison, an excerpt taken from another advertisement for the Michigan Sugar Company in Saginaw, dated October 22, 1926, offered the following “to our friends from Texas”[5].

By the Great Depression[6], Mexican colonias (barrios) were established in cities and towns across the Great Lakes region. With the onset of the Great Depression, however, and the decline in jobs available in Michigan, there emerged a massive effort to send back to Mexico those individuals with Mexican ancestry and the Mexican American population fell sharply in Michigan. It would grow once again during the Second World War due to the renewed demands for cheap labor in a variety of industries like sugar companies.

A traditional focus on the Mexican American community is reflected at college campuses as Chicano/Latino studies at Michigan State University for instance by Dr. Delia Fernandez-Jones. This research shows that the Mexican American community around Michigan began to grow in places connected to sugar companies. While there is not a large community of Mexican Americans in Menominee, in towns and cities across the lower peninsula, Mexican Americans have contributed to the economy and enriched the local culture. The social fabric was strengthened by this cultural interaction, which also helped to create diverse, thriving neighborhoods accompanied by cultural practices such as community dances, religious life, and socio-political mobilization.

It is important to mention that to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the narratives portrayed, museums and cultural institutions must engage with the Mexican American community. By highlighting the achievements of Mexican immigrants, Michigan's history will be expanded and enhanced to reflect the state's diverse and dynamic past and present. 

[1] Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, July 31). Samuel M. Stephenson. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_M._Stephenson

[2] The story of the Menominee River Sugar Company 1903-1955. رؤية. (2022, May 6). https://roya.dev/the-story-of-the-menominee-river-sugar-company-1903-1955/

[3] Wikimedia Foundation. (2023b, August 1). History of Michigan State University. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Michigan_State_University

[4] George T. Edson, “Mexicans in the North Central States,” 1927, file folder 13.38, PTC.

[5] Steven Rosales. “‘This Street Is Essentially Mexican’: An Oral History of the Mexican American Community of Saginaw, Michigan, 1920–1980.” Michigan Historical Review 40, no. 2 (2014): 33–62. https://doi.org/10.5342/michhistrevi.40.2.0033.

[6] Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2023, July 3). Great depression. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/money/topic/Great-Depression

[1] Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, July 31). Samuel M. Stephenson. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_M._Stephenson

[2] The story of the Menominee River Sugar Company 1903-1955. رؤية. (2022, May 6). https://roya.dev/the-story-of-the-menominee-river-sugar-company-1903-1955/

[3] Wikimedia Foundation. (2023b, August 1). History of Michigan State University. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Michigan_State_University

[4] George T. Edson, “Mexicans in the North Central States,” 1927, file folder 13.38, PTC.

[5] Steven Rosales. “‘This Street Is Essentially Mexican’: An Oral History of the Mexican American Community of Saginaw, Michigan, 1920–1980.” Michigan Historical Review 40, no. 2 (2014): 33–62. https://doi.org/10.5342/michhistrevi.40.2.0033.

[6] Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2023, July 3). Great depression. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/money/topic/Great-Depression