The hot cereal known as Cream of Wheat was discovered at the Diamond Flour Mill in Grand Forks. Head miller Thomson or Thomas Amidon eventually convinced the mill owners to market the nutritious middling (endosperm) of the wheat kernels as a breakfast porridge in 1893. The idea for the name of the cereal is credited to Fred Clifford, brother to George Clifford, one of the mill owners. Fred suggested they were selling the best and whitest portion of the kernels and should call it Cream of Wheat. Cases of Cream of Wheat were included in a 1895 rail shipment to New York flour brokers from the Diamond Mill. They quickly responded by requesting additional cases of the cereal. A total of 550 cases were sold in 1895 and its popularity increased from that time.

With the other two owners, Emery Mapes and George Bull, the company moved to Minneapolis in 1897. However, annual shareholder meetings for the Cream of Wheat Corporation remained for a number of years in Grand Forks, in part because many of the shareholders lived in the area. Due to the popularity of Cream of Wheat, production outgrew two manufacturing facilities in Minneapolis between 1897 and 1927. The business remained with the Bull, Mapes, and Clifford families for 69 years, until sold to Nabisco in 1962.

October 6, 1993, was declared "Cream of Wheat Day" in Grand Forks to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the cereal. Governor Ed Schafer and Grand Forks Mayor Michael Polovitz participated in the festivities, which included a community breakfast featuring varieties of Cream of Wheat. Another celebration was held the following day in Minneapolis.