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Introduction
What many do not know is that during the nineteenth century, Illinois’ countryside could have easily been mistaken for Holland; the state was once home to custom-built wind grist mills. Sadly, only four have survived, and a fifth was constructed in 2000.
If you have any information about any of the windmills (even those already listed), including articles, photographs, postcards, pamphlets, records, or even personal memories, please feel free to contact info@illinoiswindmills.org.
Begin Exploring!
Maybe you’re here for fun, you’re doing research on wind power for a school project, or you’re trying to understand how your ancestors lived in nineteenth century Illinois. If this is your first visit, the best place to begin is at Illinois Wind Power in the left navigation bar; then, see if a question on your mind has already been answered on the Frequently Asked Questions page; or, try typing a few key words into the site search engine above.
News and Updates
Veterans will notice many changes to the site, which is turning 5 years old this year! With the discovery of windmills in Chicago, Belleville, Auburn, Teutopolis, and one built by Levi Z. Leiter, there are now 50 Custom Windmills for you to explore.
You asked for it; you got it. Illinois Windmills has branched out to include surviving custom windmills across the United States of America. The tourism page now features a complete list of existing windmills in our country.
Gasp! What’s this? Carding mills? Water mills? I have no intention of adding a page for each of the 1,800 mills that once operated in Illinois; however, I have created pages for the Graue and Franklin Creek grist mills. After all: both are directly related to windmills mentioned in this site, and they are the only surviving, operating water grist mills in the state. There is also a profile for the New Salem Carding Mill, the only operating animal-driven mill in the entire country.
New photos just taken from my trip to De Immigrant in Fulton are now online. Be the first to take a virtual tour of Illinois’ youngest custom windmill. See photos and information from the Mendota Hills wind farm, “Big Windy” in Schiller Park, and the Sanders Windmill in Somonauk.
PLUS—map locations are back (where available), new detailed information about how to operate a windmill, new wind farm projects added, a site search engine, and a whole lot more. Check it out!
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2010 Mill Calendar Check out these mill-related events in your area:
February 13 Prairie Mills Windmill Golden, IL
March 13—March 27 Prairie Mills Windmill Golden, IL
April 30—May 1 De Immigrant Windmill Fulton, IL
Check back for more 2010 events |
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Illinois Windmills by Tom Haskell Online since May 30, 2005 |
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Copyright 2005—2010
This is a personal web site and is not affiliated with the organizations, towns, or companies related to the windmills listed within this site.
Last update: February 8, 2010 |
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Illinois Windmills Dedicated to the history, preservation, and continuing story of windmills in Illinois |
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5 YEARS |
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Geoffrey Baer, a WTTW producer and host of many programs regarding Chicago history and architecture, responds to a viewer’s query about the Fischer Windmill—and uses my website as a source! Click here to see the video. Click here to see the January 14th program. |