History Lesson #6: Jonathan Young & 7 Historical Windmills

Windmill, Photo by Krenda

Admiring the De Gooyer Windmill in Amsterdam, the tallest wooden mill in the Netherlands and a registered National Monument, I hoped I could share the experience of admiring historical windmills with my kids.  The Dutch refined the windmill to adapt for draining lakes and marshes.  However, the De Gooyer Windmill ground corn during WWII.  Farmers began using windmills to pump water, grind wheat and corn, and cut wood at sawmills.  

I took my kids to visit the Jonathan Young Windmill, one of the oldest or the oldest windmill in the US, built approximately 1720, moved in 1839, and moved again in 1897.  It's now located near the highway in Town Cove Park (41 Old King's Highway, Orleans, MA).  Look for when the mill opens to the public; the resident miller told historical stories and pointed out parts including the windshaft (center pole), brake wheel/bull wheel (wooden gears), drive shaft or spindle, hopper, and shoe. 

Massachusetts has a long list of windmills.  If you live outside of the east coast, here's eight windmills you can show your family:

1.  Murphy Mill, San Francisco, California:  Smock 1905 windmill appeared in the film A Jitney Elopement starring Charlie Chaplin

2.  Vermeer Mill, Pella, Iowa:  Smock windmill designed by Lukas Verbijin in the Netherlands, now the tallest working windmill in North America; visit the museum ($10 adults) or Tulip Time festival

3.  Danish Mill:  Elk Horn, Iowa:  Smock windmill built in 1848 at Norre-Snede Denmark, dismantled 1957 and re-erected at Elk Horn in 1976

4.  De Zwaan Windmill, Holland, Michigan:  Smock windmill first erected in 1761 in the Netherlands

5.  Bevo Mill, St. Louis:  After $1 million in renovations, it's open again as a restaurant Das Bevo Bierhall
6.  Millbank Holland Grist Windmill:  South Dakota, smock 1882 windmill, one of only 50 working windmills in the country, visit during Farley Fest for tour

7.  Mankato Seppman Mill, MN:  Tower mill 1864, repaired by Blue Earth County Historical Society and transitioned to state, now preserved at the Minneopa State Park