The History of Dik Jaxon Products Co., Inc. and Jaxon Corn Meal Mush

On a Sunday night in 1896, Theresa Jackson stood over her kitchen stove in Indianapolis cooking corn meal mush for her family’s dinner. That evening they ate the steaming hot mush in deep bowls with milk and sugar. After the family dinner, Theresa poured the leftover mush into loaf pans and placed it in her new ice box to chill for the family’s breakfast when it would be sliced, fried and topped with warm maple syrup.

Her husband Cyrus, watched her stirring and thought the product good enough to sell to the small local stores in their Indianapolis neighborhood. He joined his wife in the kitchen and soon took over the weekly mush-making. After the mush was thoroughly cooled, he carefully wrapped the loaves in wax paper and headed out with his horse and wagon to sell it to the local stores. He was happily rewarded by the growing market for his home-style corn meal mush and soon had to enlist the help of his three oldest sons to help run the family business, C.W. Jackson & Sons.

The market continued to grow and in 1924 Cyrus’ third son, Lloyd Jackson, along with his young wife, Kathryn, and their three sons, moved to Dayton, Ohio to expand the family business. They cooked large quantities of mush in a copper kettle over an open flame in the basement of their home. Quickly realizing the kettle needed to be much larger, they moved the operation to the garage behind their home. Lloyd continued to use his father’s recipe and selected the freshest ingredients he could find to ensure the same quality product that his parents had made in their home kitchen.

As the business grew, Lloyd needed more space. He moved the business into a building near his home where he and Kathryn and two of their sons, Dick and Bud, continued the production of the Midwestern favorite, corn meal mush. The family and the business survived the Great Depression of the 1930’s and continued to grow. About this time, Lloyd thought it would be eye-catching to change the spelling of the company's name to JAXON, which has remained the spelling ever since.

In the late 1950’s with Lloyd’s retirement, his oldest son Dick took over the mush business. The recipe remained the same and the best and freshest ingredients were still used. Dick changed the name of the company to Dik Jaxon Products.

Today, over a century later, Jaxon Mush is still in production with two of Dick’s sons and his grandson running the business. The company has come a long way since those days when Cyrus Jackson made and sold corn meal mush from his kitchen in Indianapolis.

Five generations of Jacksons have made corn meal mush using the same recipe and the best ingredients. We use only the finest fresh ground corn along with water and salt. There are no artificial preservatives or artificial colors added. That’s what makes Jaxon Corn Meal Mush the tastiest and most nutritious you can buy. Cyrus would be proud!