
Inside an Illinois Pillsbury Plant Abandoned for Over 20 Years
I have eaten enough Pillsbury products in my lifetime, I feel like I should be an honorary Pillsbury dough boy. That's why it was quite a trip to see what lies inside of a Pillsbury plant that hasn't been occupied for over 20 years.
A Vacant Lens is one of the many YouTube channels that specialize in exploring buildings no longer in use. Here's how they described their trip to southern Illinois to check out this place:
In the next installment of my southern Illinois road trip, I explore the Pillsbury Mill, a giant abandoned baking products factory!
What they found could almost pass as a history lesson in factory-baked goods.

Among the weird items found inside this factory included what appears to be arcade and maybe jukebox machines in the basement.
The interior open area looks like it contained bays for trucks to pick up products.
Some remnants remain of the product testing labs where new items were developed by Pillsbury.
One person commented on YouTube with some interesting backstory of this old Pillsbury factory due to his family connections:
Jeffrey Brunken - "My parents met while working there in the 1950’s. Times were different back then and I made many visits into the plant as a child. Pillsbury was a family-owned company for decades. This complex was built to be the crown jewel of their business and it showed. This was among the world’s largest facilities of its kind for many years. Consumer home baking trends began to change significantly in the late 20th century and this complex, along with many others across the US, became increasingly unsuited to meet those changes."
What used to be one of Pillsbury's proudest facilities now sits empty for more than 2 decades. Perhaps someone in this part of southern Illinois can have a vision to restore this place to something new and vital.
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