The History of Quaker Square
A brief overview. One thing you're sure to find at Quaker Square is a rich history. From Ferdinand Schumacher's first attempts at selling breakfast oats or the fire that nearly destroyed Quaker Oats, to the massive construction effort it took to transform a factory into a world-class hotel, our history is pretty amazing!
Quaker Oats was an innovative company in the packaged foods business, that changed the face of American food merchandising. And it all started from its mills and offices in Akron! In 1970, Quaker Oats stopped production in Akron and moved its headquarters to Chicago.
In March of 1973, plans were announced to redevelop the vacant buildings, and on April 1, 1975, Quaker Square was opened with four shops and an ice cream parlor.
The silos, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, are a soaring 120 feet tall and 24 feet in diameter. Because of the shape of the silos, each room in the Quaker Square is totally round.
Who would have guessed that the mills and silos, built by Ferdinand Schumacher, would become a hotel and entertainment complex that has been recognized for its uniqueness around the world?
A young man with a good idea. The sturdy brick and stone buildings that house Quaker Square today were the creation of an equally sturdy man of a century ago – Ferdinand Schumacher (1822-1908
He introduced oatmeal, first to Akron and then to the whole United States. Remembering that, back in Germany, he used to grind oats and sell the meal as a breakfast food, he decided to try the same here.
His product was so popular that, in 1856, he bought an old wooden factory along the canal and installed machinery so that he could grind 20 barrels of oats a day.
With the start of the Civil War, he sold quantities of his oatmeal to the Army. In 1863 he moved to Mill Street, to the site of the present Quaker Square, and erected the Empire Barley Mill.
After a disastrous fire in 1886, Mr. Schumacher's finances were short, but his prestige was still high. That led to a merger with the Akron Milling Company, and the formation of the new F. Schumacher Milling Company, which, a few years later, joined with other firms to form the American Cereal Company.
After some conflicts, the 77-year-old miller was dropped as president in 1899. American Cereal went on to become the major component of the Quaker Oats Company, which was incorporated in 1901. Mr. Schumacher died in 1908.
Building a Hotel. While the Quaker Square Inn at The University of Akron is now a world-class hotel, getting there took quite a bit of hard work and planning.
Some of the original milling equipment, still in place, serves as a reminder of the building's historic origins. Certainly the cornerstone of the project to date is the innovative Crowne Plaza Quaker Square complex that's built into the cluster of 36 grain silos that were originally built by Quaker Oats in 1932, and once housed 1,500,000 bushels of grain.
