In 1899, the J.C. Hubinger Brothers Company owned starch factories in New Haven CT and Keokuk IA. These plants bought cornstarch from corn refiners and mixed it with other 'secret' ingredients to produce a variety of cornstarch products, including their famous Elastic Starch which was becoming hugely popular with housewives across the nation.

The Hubinger brothers wanted to increase production to keep up with demand. They decided on building a new plant in Keokuk to produce their own cornstarch and cut out the middlemen of the corn refiners. The idea took awhile to organize but by May, 1902 with 20 million dollars in financing, construction started at 5th and A Streets below Soap Creek. Less than a year later the plant was ready to go. President Theodore Roosevelt visited Keokuk on April 29, 1903 and personally flipped a switch (in Rand Park) that fed power to the machinery.

Known as the 'cereal works', productivity and profits shot up as costs decreased. The plant produced several different cornstarch products, from individual Elastic Starch packages to 280 lb bags of powdered and pearl starches. Sitting at the apex of rail and river traffic it was a money making enterprise for JC, Nicholas and Joseph Hubinger.

But at 11pm on December 21, 1903, less than 8 months after its opening, an explosion in the dryer room set the factory ablaze. It was the most spectacular disaster in Keokuk up to that time. Most of the plant was destroyed as the fire raged all night. News accounts of the time described the intensity of the flames and heat. For the most part it was a total loss. Fortunately very few injuries occurred with only one death, workman John Puder.

The plant was rebuilt in late 1904 but JC was eventually bought out by his brothers. In 1907 raw and refined corn syrups were added to its production line. JC Hubinger died in 1908, and the remaining Hubinger brothers of New Haven and their descendants owned the facilities until 1925 when they sold out. After several intervening owners it's still in operation today.

NOTE: The name 'cereal works' was camouflage. The Hubinger brothers didn't want other corn refiners in the area to know they were opening a competitor, so they called it the 'cereal works' to hide their intentions. No cereals were ever produced.

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