Post Sinks Millions Into West Texas Utopia

Months of costly construction went down the drain on May 14, 1907, when C.W. Post picked out a new place for his West Texas dream town and ordered the original site abandoned.

The hired hands shrugged their shoulders. After all, the Battle Creek millionaire had the bucks to build his High Plains utopia many times over. The creator of a popular coffee substitute did not merely find the pot at the end of the rainbow, he owned it.

Financial success came early in life for Charles William Post with farm-implement patents paving the way for a fabulous career in business. But the entrepreneur with the Midas touch pushed himself too hard and suffered a severe nervous breakdown at the age of 32.

Plagued by a series of relapses, Post did not completely recover for five long years. He came to Texas in search of a healthier climate, and the sparkling potential enticed him to stay. Back on his feet at last, he often visited Fort Worth where his elderly parents had retired.

During extensive travels in the Lone Star State during the late 1880s, Post sampled the West Texas beverage of chicory, roasted wheat and other miscellaneous grains. This makeshift mixture inspired his patient effort to create a nutritional alternative to coffee.

While supervising a sanitarium at Battle Creek, Michigan, Post perfected a tasty blend of wheat, bran, and molasses. In five years, the annual sales of Postum surpassed a million dollars.

Cut-rate competitors cashed in on the craze with cheap imitations that sold for 15 cents a package, a dime less than the real thing. Post met the challenge by marketing his product under another label for a nickel and drove the fly-by-nights out of business.

Although opposed to collective bargaining, Post exerted an innovative influence on labor relations. He encouraged his managers to satisfy the workers