Surviving Windmills

De Immigrant

(Fulton Windmill)

Copyright 2005—2008 Thomas Haskell

10th Avenue and 1st Street

Fulton, IL 61252

Status

                 Newly constructed and operational

Tours

                 Tours are available during open hours.  No admission fee is

                 required, but donations are accepted.  Visit the mill’s gift

                 shop in the basement.

Hours

                 May

                                  Saturday: 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
                                  Sunday: 1:00 to 5:00 P.M.
                 June—August
                                  Weekdays: 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

                                  Saturday: 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
                                  Sunday: 1:00 to 5:00 P.M.
                 September
                                  Weekdays: 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
                                  Saturday: 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
                                  Sunday: 1:00 to 5:00 P.M.
                 October
                                  Saturday: 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
                                  Sunday: 1:00 to 5:00 P.M.
                 Closed / non-operational during winter.

Websites

                 De Immigrant information

                 De Immigrant construction

Tower Height

             45’—11”

Sail Span

             72’

Uses

                 (2001—present) Wheat

                 (2001—present) Buckwheat

                 (2001—present) Rye

                 (2001—present) Corn

Constructed

                 (1999—2001)

Millwrights

                 Molema Millbuilders

Owner

                 City of Fulton (2001—present)

Honors

                 2001: Governor’s Hometown Award

                 2001: Engineering Accomplishment to Willett

                                  and Hoffmann Engineers

History

 

To celebrate its strong Dutch heritage, the City of Fulton dedicated a parcel of land on a flood-control dike along the Mississippi river for the new construction of an authentic Dutch smock windmill.  To ensure authenticity, it was decided that the mill would be built in the Netherlands by native millwrights.  A contract was signed on December 4, 1998 in the Netherlands to employ Lowlands Management, Molema Millbuilders, and Havenga Construction to build the mill in sections at a time and have the parts shipped to Fulton for final assembly.  Construction began the following January after the arrival of 30 metric tons of bilinga wood to Molema.

 

Once the different parts were carved and fitted, they were sent (first by boat, then by truck) to Fulton, where the windmill was built in phases.  The octagonal tower was built first, and was also built separately from the base, cap, and machinery.  Once the foundation was poured and the cap arrived, the three parts were put together at once in “The Big Lift” on November 19. 1999.  A crane was used to lift the tower onto the base, lift the cap onto the tower, and then to install the sails into the windshaft.


The next few years of construction were dedicated to phase II of the process which included the gear work, mill stones, brick work, and landscaping.  On May 5, 2001, the fully functional De Immigrant was brought into service with a dedication ceremony, and the mill has been grinding ever since.

                

The windmill itself does closely resemble the construction and methods used by German immigrants 150 years ago.  Unlike the mills across the rest of the state, however, this mill is much more traditional to Holland in that its sails rotate at ground level (as opposed to raised sails above wing buildings accessible by a stage) and in that its external architecture and colors better reflect mills still operating there.  The windmill is very modern, with an iron windshaft, iron quants, a brick façade, and a concrete foundation; curiously, however, the mill does not contain many windows and does not operate using grain elevators.

 

Plans are in the works to add more attractions to the windmill’s vicinity, including a park and more shops in a “Dutch village” in addition to a new community center.

 

Sources

                 -The City of Fulton

                 -http://www.cityoffulton.us/windmill.php

                 -http://www.hippowebdesign.com/fulton/index.html

 

Literature

 

                 Pamphlet published by the city of Fulton.
                 Book published May 2005 by the
Fulton Journal (available in the gift shop).

 

Images

 

                 Photo facing west (2001) by City of Fulton

                 Photo facing east (2001) by City of Fulton

De Immigrant, situated on a levee along the Mississippi River, ready to begin grinding on a beautiful fall day.

Photo from Great River Road Sightseeing

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Illinois Windmills

“Absence of proof is not proof of absence.”

 

—William Cowper