Overview

The Kinnard-Haines Company manufactured the Flour City Tractor. This building is the company’s only remaining physical structure. 

• Location: 826 44th Avenue North
• Neighborhood: Lind-Bohanon

Historic profile

The Kinnard-Haines Company manufactured the Flour City Tractor. This building is the company’s only remaining physical structure.

Used as the company office, the building is one story tall and faced in light brown and cream brick. Its arched window openings and dentils on the cornice reflect the Classical Revival style. It was designed by Adam Lansing Dorr, a prominent Minneapolis architect. He also designed the Keyes House and West 15th Street Rowhouses, both historic landmarks.

The small company’s growth from 1882 to 1929 reflected the broader industry at the time. Combustion engines were transitioning from steam power to gas power. This period of rapid technological change prompted innovation and the creation of many companies. The Kinnard-Haines Company was a leader in using gasoline engines for agriculture purposes.

The Kinnard-Haines Company was one of the earliest factories along Shingle Creek. Owen Brook Kinnard, an inventor and machinist, and his father-in-law Albert Haines founded the company. They first manufactured machinery for lath and shingle mills. Later they focused on hay presses. The firm was best known for the gas-powered Flour City Tractor. The Flour City Tractor was first sold in 1899. At its height in the 1920s, the company employed 150 men.

The company failed by 1930. It faced difficult economic conditions of the Great Depression and competition from Ford.

The company's foundry and machine shops were located across the street from the office. That area was cleared in 1940 and developed as a park. The office was converted to a single-family house in 1973.