On this day in 1893: Denver guy receives patent for shredded wheat

In the late 19th Century, Denver restaurant owner Henry Perky had an idea for breakfast cereal that would rival what the Kelloggs were doing out in Michigan.

Perky’s idea like Denver itself was new. It was simple. It was efficient.

It was shredded wheat.

On Aug. 1, 1893, Perky received a patent to make his pillow-like wheat biscuits, the U.S. Census Bureau reminded us Monday.

“By 1901, Perky set up an ultra-modern plant at Niagara Falls called ‘the Palace of Light’ to make shredded wheat, and the falls became the familiar logo of the cereal, which continues as a Nabisco product,” the census said in a release.

Today, there are 82 breakfast cereal manufacturing establishments in the U.S., employing 11,500 workers.

Colorado is no longer home to any major cereal brands, but we do have small, local granola makers like Indian Ridge Farm & Bakery.

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