De la Barre, William (1849–1936)

Creator:
William DeLaBarre
Photograph of William de la Barre in overcoat and hat, c.1885. Photographer: Stafford and Company.

While working at Minneapolis's Washburn mills in the late 1870s, William de la Barre became an internationally known hydroelectricity expert and a key player in the development of water power at St. Anthony Falls.

William de la Barre was born in Vienna, Austria, on April 15, 1849, and studied mechanical engineering at Vienna Polytechnic Institute. After his family immigrated to the United States in 1866, he continued his studies at Polytechnic College in Philadelphia. In the 1870s, De la Barre became a US citizen and began his career in gas engineering with Pascal Iron Works and Morris, Tasker and Company. He married Louise Merian, and they had three children, one of whom died in childhood. In 1876, De la Barre was in charge of all gas, water, and sewer piping laid for the Philadelphia Exposition.

The Washburn A Mill explosion on May 2, 1878, put De la Barre on a new path. He came to Minneapolis for the first time about a month later as a representative of Brehmer Brothers Company. Brehmer Brothers had the US license for a new system designed by Gustav Behrns to eliminate flour dust in mills. Cadwallader Colden (C.C.) Washburn was interested in the Behrns devices as a way to prevent future explosions in his mills.

Washburn asked De la Barre to install three of the devices in his B Mill on a trial basis, and De la Barre did so at his own expense. Washburn was so impressed with the Behrns devices that he ordered many more. He also paid De la Barre for his expenses plus a commission and offered him a job with his C.C. Washburn Mill Company. De la Barre accepted the position and moved his family from Philadelphia to Minneapolis.

One of De la Barre's first jobs for Washburn was to rebuild the A Mill, which was operational again by 1880. Later that year, De la Barre traveled to Europe on Washburn's dime to study milling methods there. In Budapest, Hungary, he resorted to industrial espionage to learn the secrets of the "new process," which involved the use of rollers rather than millstones to break down wheat kernels. Some of the new technologies De la Barre observed in Europe were implemented in the Washburn mills with great success.

In 1881, De la Barre was named a director of Minneapolis Mill Company. He assumed responsibility for all of the water power generated at St. Anthony Falls after Minneapolis Mill Company merged with St. Anthony Water Power Company during the creation of Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company in 1889.

Even before 1889, De la Barre had begun improvements on the west side of St. Anthony Falls, supervising the creation of a new canal and headraces that greatly increased the power available to nearby mills. In the 1890s, he made improvements on the east side of the falls, updating an existing sluiceway and building a new one to protect the fragile waterfall.

De la Barre's greatest achievement came in 1896 and 1897, when he built the Lower Dam and Lower Dam Hydro Plant below St. Anthony Falls. Charles Alfred Pillsbury, general manager of Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company, funded the project. It was dubbed "De la Barre's Folly" for its million-dollar price tag, but the dam added 10,000 horsepower to the existing power available at the falls and the hydro plant was leased immediately by Thomas Lowry's Twin City Rapid Transit Company, which used the plant's power to run its electric streetcar system. Later, De la Barre built another hydro plant on Hennepin Island and it also was leased by the transit company.

De la Barre was well liked and respected by his contemporaries, many of whom attended a dinner in his honor at the Minneapolis Club on January 28, 1924. He joined the leadership group of Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company in 1899 and continued to manage all water power at the falls until 1923, when water rights went to what would later become Northern States Power Company.

De la Barre's opinion was sought on many projects relating to St. Anthony Falls, such as new bridges. He consulted on water power projects in Georgia and Montana, and he was asked to help develop hydroelectricity in Japan in 1908 but decided to stay in Minneapolis. He died at his home at 2525 Park Avenue on March 24, 1936, at age eighty-six.

Cite
Huber, Molly. "De la Barre, William (1849–1936)." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/person/de-la-barre-william-1849-1936
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First Published: June 06, 2011
Last Modified: April 14, 2025

Bibliography

Anfinson, John O. "Spiritual Power to Industrial Might: 12,000 Years at St. Anthony Falls." Minnesota History 58, no. 5 and 6 (Spring/Summer 2003): 252–269.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/58/v58i05-06p252-269.pdf

De la Barre, William. "Recollections of a Milling Engineer." Northwestern Miller 105, no. 13 (March 29, 1916): 851, 852, 871.

Edgar, William C. The Medal of Gold. Minneapolis: The Bellman Company, 1925.

Gray, James. Business without Boundary: The Story of General Mills. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1954.

Kane, Lucile M. The Falls of St. Anthony: The Waterfall that Built Minneapolis. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1987.

"Last Stone Laid." Minneapolis Tribune, March 21, 1897.

Meyer, Herbert W. "History of St. Anthony Falls Water Power Co. and Minneapolis Mill Co." Reprinted from Our Shield (November 1955-March 1956): 80–97.

"Mill Explosion in 1878 Put Minneapolis On Map and Brought Opportunity to William de la Barre, Mill Engineer." Minneapolis Journal, February 20, 1921.

"Old Friends and Associates Pay Tribute to Pioneer Miller at 74th Birthday Dinner—Active in Industry Here Since 1878." Minneapolis Journal, January 29, 1924.

"Opposed to the Stone Arch Bridge." Minneapolis Tribune, September 18, 1885.

Pearson, Marjorie, Penny A. Petersen, and Nathan W. Olson, Hess, Roise and Company. Mill Ruins Park Research Study. Prepared for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, May 2003.

Pennefeather, Shannon M., ed. Mill City: A Visual History of the Minneapolis Mill District. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2003.

Petersen, Penny A. and Marjorie Pearson, Hess, Roise and Company. Architecture and Historic Preservation on the Minneapolis Riverfront. Prepared for the Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Board, March 2007.

"'Sage of the River' Says Bridge is Safe." Minneapolis Tribune, October 28, 1913.

Saint Anthony Falls Rediscovered. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Riverfront Development Coordination Board, 1980.

Watts, Alison. "The Technology that Launched a City: Scientific and Technological Innovations in Flour Milling during the 1870s in Minneapolis." Minnesota History 57, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 86–97.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/57/v57i02p086-097.pdf

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Related Images

William DeLaBarre
Photograph of William de la Barre in overcoat and hat, c.1885. Photographer: Stafford and Company.
William De La Barre, engineer engaged by C. C. Washburn
Photograph of William de la Barre at a writing desk, c.1875.
West side canal at St. Anthony Falls during construction, Minneapolis

West side canal, engineered by William de la Barre, under construction, c.1890. Photographer: Henry R. Farr.

Newly constructed Lower Dam Hydro Plant, Minneapolis
Newly constructed Lower Dam Hydro Plant, designed by William de la Barre, December 9, 1896.
Lower Dam Hydro Plant and Lower Dam, St. Anthony Falls
Lower Dam and Lower Dam Hydro Plant, St. Anthony Falls, designed by William de la Barre, c.1898.
Hydro Plant near Hennepin Island, Minneapolis
Hennepin Island Hydro Plant, designed by William de la Barre, January 22, 1908.
Humidor used by William de la Barre
Painted milk glass cigar humidor used by William de la Barre.
Walking stick used by William de la Barre
Triangular wooden walking stick capped with a sterling silver floral engraved headpiece used by William de la Barre.
Washburn A Mill, Minneapolis
Washburn A Mill, Minneapolis, rebuilt after the 1878 explosion, ca. 1882.
William DeLaBarre

William DeLaBarre

Photograph of William de la Barre in overcoat and hat, c.1885. Photographer: Stafford and Company.

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Minnesota Historical Society
William De La Barre, engineer engaged by C. C. Washburn

William De La Barre

Photograph of William de la Barre at a writing desk, c.1875.

Public domain

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Minnesota Historical Society
West side canal at St. Anthony Falls during construction, Minneapolis

Canal at St. Anthony Falls during construction

West side canal, engineered by William de la Barre, under construction, c.1890. Photographer: Henry R. Farr.

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Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Newly constructed Lower Dam Hydro Plant, Minneapolis

Newly constructed Lower Dam Hydro Plant

Newly constructed Lower Dam Hydro Plant, designed by William de la Barre, December 9, 1896.

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Minnesota Historical Society
Lower Dam Hydro Plant and Lower Dam, St. Anthony Falls

Lower Dam Hydro Plant

Lower Dam and Lower Dam Hydro Plant, St. Anthony Falls, designed by William de la Barre, c.1898.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Hydro Plant near Hennepin Island, Minneapolis

Hydro Plant near Hennepin Island, Minneapolis

Hennepin Island Hydro Plant, designed by William de la Barre, January 22, 1908.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Humidor used by William de la Barre

Humidor used by William de la Barre

Painted milk glass cigar humidor used by William de la Barre.
© Minnesota Historical Society    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Walking stick used by William de la Barre

Walking stick used by William de la Barre

Triangular wooden walking stick capped with a sterling silver floral engraved headpiece used by William de la Barre.
© Minnesota Historical Society    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Washburn A Mill, Minneapolis

Washburn A Mill, Minneapolis

Washburn A Mill, Minneapolis, rebuilt after the 1878 explosion, ca. 1882.

Turning Point

In 1878, William de la Barre meets Cadwallader Colden (C.C.) Washburn, who would later hire him and set him on a path to influence the development of water power at St. Anthony Falls.

Chronology

1849
William de la Barre is born in Vienna, Austria, on April 15.
1866
De la Barre's family immigrates to the United States.
1876
De la Barre is in charge of all gas, water, and sewer piping laid for the Philadelphia Exposition.
1878
He shows Cadwallader Colden (C.C.) Washburn the Behrns Exhaust System in Minneapolis.
1880
De la Barre finishes rebuilding the Washburn A Mill.
1881
De la Barre is named a director of Minneapolis Mill Company.
1889
He assumes responsibility for all of the water power generated at St. Anthony Falls.
1897
De la Barre completes the Lower Dam and Lower Dam Hydro Plant below St. Anthony Falls.
1899
De la Barre joins the leadership group of Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company.
1924
His colleagues and contemporaries host a January dinner in his honor at the Minneapolis Club.
1936
De la Barre dies at home in Minneapolis at age eighty-six.

Bibliography

Anfinson, John O. "Spiritual Power to Industrial Might: 12,000 Years at St. Anthony Falls." Minnesota History 58, no. 5 and 6 (Spring/Summer 2003): 252–269.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/58/v58i05-06p252-269.pdf

De la Barre, William. "Recollections of a Milling Engineer." Northwestern Miller 105, no. 13 (March 29, 1916): 851, 852, 871.

Edgar, William C. The Medal of Gold. Minneapolis: The Bellman Company, 1925.

Gray, James. Business without Boundary: The Story of General Mills. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1954.

Kane, Lucile M. The Falls of St. Anthony: The Waterfall that Built Minneapolis. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1987.

"Last Stone Laid." Minneapolis Tribune, March 21, 1897.

Meyer, Herbert W. "History of St. Anthony Falls Water Power Co. and Minneapolis Mill Co." Reprinted from Our Shield (November 1955-March 1956): 80–97.

"Mill Explosion in 1878 Put Minneapolis On Map and Brought Opportunity to William de la Barre, Mill Engineer." Minneapolis Journal, February 20, 1921.

"Old Friends and Associates Pay Tribute to Pioneer Miller at 74th Birthday Dinner—Active in Industry Here Since 1878." Minneapolis Journal, January 29, 1924.

"Opposed to the Stone Arch Bridge." Minneapolis Tribune, September 18, 1885.

Pearson, Marjorie, Penny A. Petersen, and Nathan W. Olson, Hess, Roise and Company. Mill Ruins Park Research Study. Prepared for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, May 2003.

Pennefeather, Shannon M., ed. Mill City: A Visual History of the Minneapolis Mill District. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2003.

Petersen, Penny A. and Marjorie Pearson, Hess, Roise and Company. Architecture and Historic Preservation on the Minneapolis Riverfront. Prepared for the Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Board, March 2007.

"'Sage of the River' Says Bridge is Safe." Minneapolis Tribune, October 28, 1913.

Saint Anthony Falls Rediscovered. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Riverfront Development Coordination Board, 1980.

Watts, Alison. "The Technology that Launched a City: Scientific and Technological Innovations in Flour Milling during the 1870s in Minneapolis." Minnesota History 57, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 86–97.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/57/v57i02p086-097.pdf

Related Resources