Post suffered a
mental breakdown in November 1885, the result of the
stress and overwork which accompanied his job as a farm implement manufacturer. Post made a break with his previous life, moving to
Texas in 1886, where he came into association with a group of
real estate developers in
Fort Worth, who were attempting to establish a new community on the eastern outskirts of a town called Riverside. In 1888, Post began a real estate development of his own in Fort Worth on that he had obtained,
platting the land for streets and homes and constructing two mills. In 1895, Post founded
Postum Cereal Co., with his first product, Postum cereal beverage. Post's first breakfast cereal premiered in 1897, and he named the product Grape-Nuts cereal because of the fruity aroma noticed during the manufacturing process and the nutty crunch of the finished product. In 1904, he followed up the Grape-Nuts label with a brand of
corn flakes, which was first called Elijah's Manna before being renamed
Post Toasties in 1908. The British government refused to allow Post to market his cereal in the United Kingdom using the name Elijah's Manna, stating that it was sacrilegious. In 1906, Post invested some of his substantial earnings from his food products manufacturing into Texas real estate, purchasing a massive tract in
Garza and
Lynn Counties. Post platted a new town, which he called
Post City. Shade trees were planted, farm parcels laid out, and a hotel, a school, churches, and a department store were constructed for the new Garza County seat. Post was a staunch opponent of the trade union movement and was remembered by the
National Association of Manufacturers as one who "opposed bitterly
boycotts, strikes,
lockouts, picketing and other forms of coercion in the relations between employer and employee". Post was also a leading public advocate of the open shop system. ==Death and legacy==