Editing Bethalto, Illinois (section)

=== Milling industry ===
In the late 1800s, the principal industry of Bethalto was milling.<ref name ="Norton p.612" /> In 1859, the President Mill and Elevator Company was established by James Neimrich.<ref name ="Norton p.612" /> The company was bought, sold and expanded various times over the years, eventually coming into the ownership of John W. Kaufman in 1881.<ref name ="Norton p.613" /> In either 1895 or 1896, the flour mill was destroyed in a fire.<ref name ="Norton p.613" /><ref name ="Kauffman" /> Kauffman declined to rebuild the mill, instead opting to purchase the Eagle flour mill of St. Louis.<ref name ="Kauffman" /> The loss of the mill had a profound impact on the village. In 1890, the population of Bethalto was 879.<ref name ="Norton p.613" /> By 1900, it had fallen to 477 and in 1910 the population of the village was just 447.<ref name ="Norton p.613" />