My Great-Great Grandfather, George Brown, purchased a water powered grist mill that was built in 1843. He used mill stones to grind the grains to produce farm animal feed and flour from the wheat he grew on his farm. Franklin Brown, one of George's sons, joined his father in the business that he directed until he retired in 1920. As our country was celebrating the dawn of the 20th century, Brown's business started on its path of expansion and growth with the addition of Franklin Brown's four sons, the third generation, into the family business. The four sons formed a partnership called F.M. Brown's Sons that was later incorporated in 1948. Each son successfully established separate but supporting divisions of F.M. Brown's including a large animal food division in Birdsboro, PA; the flour division in Sinking Spring, PA which later moved into a new plant in Fleetwood, PA; a working farm in Douglassville, PA and a fuel oil and coal division in Reading, PA. Later, their sons, the fourth generation of Brown's, entered the corporation.