Custom Windmills
Fischer Windmill
Old Dutch Mill, Mount Emblem Mill, Ehlers' Mill
Mount Emblem Cemetery
520 East Grand Avenue
Elmhurst, IL 60126
Status
Closed, awaiting restoration
Tours
This windmill is closed to the public.
Hours
Mount Emblem Cemetery is open daily from dawn to dusk. The cemetery office features some rare old photographs and has pamphlets available.
Wheelchair Accessible
Ground level only
Website
Tower Height
51'
Sail Span
74' (Original); 50' (Current)
Uses
(1867 - 1874?) Wheat
(1867 - 1916?) Corn
(1936 - present) Bell Tower
Constructed
(1865 - 1867) Original
(1925 - 1926) Restoration
Millwrights
Henry Frederick Fischer (Original)
Christian Heidemann (Original)
Henry Korthauer (Original)
Henry Ehlers (Restoration)
Franklyn Ehlers (Restoration)
Owners
Henry Frederick Fischer (1867 - 1877)
Edward Ehlers (1877 - 1916)
Caroline Ehlers (1916 - 1925)
Mount Emblem Cemetery (1925 - present)
Honors
1956: DuPage County Historical Society
Model Fischer Windmill
The Fischer Windmill, June 2010
Photo by Tom Haskell
History
Facing northeast to the entrance of Mount Emblem Cemetery is the Fischer
Windmill, the oldest standing windmill in the state of Illinois.
Although it is now beautifully adorned by planned landscaping—including
Lake Emblem, evergreens, and lilac bushes—the mill has fallen into a
state of disrepair. Of the five remaining custom windmills
in Illinois, it was the only that was not, nor had plans to be, restored
and operational until 2011.
The “official” story that Mount Emblem Cemetery and other sources
incorrectly publish is that construction of the windmill began in 1847
by Frederick L. Fischer and was completed by 1850; however, land and tax
records from the DuPage County Clerk reveal a different story:
Frederick L. Fischer owned almost three hundred acres of land across
DuPage and Cook counties. Upon his death, he left his son, Henry
Frederick Fischer, with the land in DuPage County. The land was
not part of any municipality at that time; in fact, it wasn’t until 1981
that the City of Elmhurst annexed the land.
Henry began mill construction in 1865 (as an interesting side note, the
Graue Mill was erected by Henry’s brothers-in-law, William Asche and
Frederick Graue). The mill itself was not made from local timber;
rather, its parts were prefabricated to Fischer’s specifications and
shipped to Elmhurst from Holland in pieces (similar to the method used
in constructing
De Immigrant in Fulton). Asked to aid with the construction of
the mill were: Christian
Heidemann, whose own mill in Addison would later be based on
Fischer’s design; and Henry
Korthauer, a cabinet maker from Bensenville. It took nearly
three years to build because of changes to the design during its
construction (despite being constructed without machinery, most mills
took just a year or so to build). The great spur wheel alone took
six months to complete.
The hand-crafted Dutch style mill features cypress beams, hickory and
white oak gearing, and white pine sails all resting on a two-story
foundation of stone. With a sail span of over 74’ and capability
of 40 barrels per day, Fischer’s mill was one of the largest in the
state. Technologically speaking, Fischer’s mill is very advanced:
it features grain elevators; a fly-ball governor to automatically tenter
the grinding stones; an auxiliary drive system; “shakers” that
automatically tap grain into the stones; the latest wheat-cleaning and
corn-shelling machines; and a spiral conveyor.
The north receiving wing (which once had double-doors that wagons could
back into) is equipped with a cart that rides on tracks to ease the
transport of grains from farmers’ wagons to the grain bins at the center
of the mill. A bolting machine that separated and bagged the
freshly-ground flour is located in the east shipping wing. To
drive the windmill on calm days, a 25-horsepower steam engine was
installed in the west wing. A photograph recently surfaced showing
a small building to the north of the east wing that may have served as
an office or shed; the small building, which matches the architecture of
the other wings, does not appear in photographs taken after 1886.
The mill began grinding with two run-of-stone (one for wheat, one for
corn) by 1867. With the mill in close proximity to what is now the
Chicago and Northwestern railroad, business for Fischer was probably
great. Heidemann’s windmill, which began grinding in 1868, and
Brockman’s windmill, which opened in 1870, were the only competition
in the area. With each mill capable of 40 barrels per day, local
needs were just barely met.
Ten years after opening, Fischer sold the mill and ten acres to Edward
Ehlers for $10,000. Fischer moved his family to Oregon where,
three years later, he sold another 21 acres to Ehlers. Fischer
used the money to purchase a water mill capable of 50 barrels a day.
Profitable wheat farming in Illinois hit an all-time low in 1894, and it
is likely that wheat grinding stopped around that time. As profits
dropped, the windmill’s maintenance was neglected. The steam
engine in the west wing was removed in 1910 and the space was used for
storage. The mill probably stopped grinding altogether around 1916
when Edward Ehlers passed away (photographs indicate that two sails,
located opposite one another, had broken off around 1912. Despite
this fact, it is possible the mill could still operate).
Edward’s widow Caroline (daughter of Henry Korthauer, one of the
original builders) sold the farm and windmill to the Mount Emblem
Association for $10,000 in 1925. Although the windmill and farm
buildings were initially scheduled for demolition, the association
instead hired Henry and Franklyn Ehlers, Edward’s sons, of Ehlers
Brothers General Contractors, to preserve the mill as a museum.
Ehlers Brothers Construction also built the
Elmhurst State Bank Building
(now a 5/3 Bank) at 105 S. York Road.
They rebuilt the two missing sails; installed new windows, shingles and
trim; replaced and reinforced the stage and hand rails; painted the
mill; and turned the sails to a Saint Andrew’s cross, or ‘X’ formation,
which traditionally means the mill is in “a long rest period.” The
cap was turned to the northeast toward the cemetery’s entrance. It
was not long, however, before the prevailing west winds lifted the cap
of the mill off the dead curb track. To prevent future damage, the
cap was permanently strapped to the tower. The Itasca Electric
Store installed flood lights on the roof of both the north and east
wings to illuminate the mill at night.
The barn was the only other structure that survived demolition; it is
now the home and headquarters of the cemetery custodian. What was
left of the windmill’s west wing was destroyed when the area was cleared
for construction of the administration building and parking lot.
The iron drive shaft is still visible from the exterior of the west wall
of the mill. The cemetery’s administration building, along with
the entrance gates and bridges, were designed to resemble English
architecture of the 1850s to “match” the styles used when the windmill
was built; however, these copper and stone English structures only
contrast with the German and Dutch woodwork of the mill.
Dr. Preston Bradley dedicated the opening of the cemetery in June of
1936. Since then, the windmill plays music on Sundays and holidays
from loudspeakers in the third floor windows. It took eleven years
for the architects of Simonds, West, & Blair to transform 75 acres (now
160 acres) of flat farmland into a picturesque, tranquil scene with tens
of thousands of new trees and shrubs in addition to the creation of Lake
Emblem.
From 1926 to 1990, the windmill had been left untouched; it became an
historical local icon in addition to the subject of artists’ paintings
and the backdrop for both weddings and funerals. In 1956, Mount
Emblem was awarded for its preservation of the mill by the DuPage County
Historical Society. The sails eventually lost their wind boards,
and three of the sails broke as a result of tail-winding. The
replacement sails, nearly identical to the one remaining original (the
lower left), were a few feet shorter with only 26 sail-bars instead of
30.
During the winter of 1990-91, a severe storm nearly destroyed the mill.
Forces against the tail of the cap caused the brake to release and the
sails to turn. The wind shaft twisted apart. As the sails
fell, the brake wheel rose until its teeth came into contact with the
wallower which, thankfully, held together and prevented the machinery
from causing further damage. The mill remained this way—with its
damaged sails angled toward the ground as the unbalanced cap teetered on
the tower while slowly being pulled apart by the brake wheel—for some
time until the sails were finally removed and the cap repaired.
The aging mill was deemed structurally unsafe was thus permanently
closed to the public.
The following year, all four sails and the wind shaft were replaced, but
the replacement sails were purely for show; the new windshaft was
permanently bolted to the brake wheel, and the sails (although, in many
ways, staying true to the original sail design) built without an angle
of weather, and this time only containing 19 sail bars each. In
1998, yet another storm tail-winded the cap, snapping its two upper
sails. These were replaced, and the entire sail structure was
reinforced with extra bolts, clamps, and cables.
A winter storm in 2003-2004 brought all four sails down again. For
the bulk of 2004, the sails and wind shaft sat on the ground to the east
of the mill (some joked the sails looked like a giant version of a
tjasker) as a gaping hole in the cap exposed the brake wheel. In
early 2005 the sails were replaced again, this time apparently using
light-weight aluminum bolted to the mill's cap. These new sails
(with a mere 13 sail-bars widely spaced apart), combined with the broken
windows and over-grown bushes, undoubtedly kill any grandeur the
windmill ever had.
Latest Developments
Apparently, the idea of reviving the windmill is not new. In a
2007 visit to the mill, I peeked into the windows of the north wing, and
against the north wall I noticed a green-and-white sign that read
“Windmill Restoration / Starting Spring 1996.” Unfortunately, the
plans were not pursued.
Since 2008, the cemetery has been storing old window frames inside the
east wing.
In 2010, the portion of the east wing near the center of the mill
slipped off of its foundation. This caused part of the stage to
fall, breaking one of the stage’s supporting timbers from the stone
tower wall. The siding along the north side of the east wing is
bending and buckling under pressure.
The blizzard of 2011 also caused significant damage to the mill.
More timbers supporting the stage broke free of their stone foundations
from the weight of the snow. The high winds actually managed to
turn the immovable sails one-eight of a revolution, and winds also blew
open two of the access doors, where snow drifts piled high inside of the
mill.
A campaign has been started to
Save the
Fischer Windmill.
Sources
-Vierling, Philip E.
The Fischer Windmill. Chicago: Illinois Country
Outdoor Guides, 1994.
-The History of the Old Dutch Mill. Mount Emblem Cemetery.
-Pirola, Louis. Historic American Buildings Survey.
Heideman Mill, Addison IL. Chicago: HABS, 1934.
-“Windward ho!” Addison Press. 26 June 1998.
-DuPage County Clerk land and tax records, 1850—1926
-Advertisement. Cook County Herald. 2 November 1926
-1874 Combination Atlas of DuPage County
-photographs of the Bensenville Public Library
-photographs of the Elmhurst Historical Society
-oral history of Ernestine Ehlers Hackmeister
-map of Mount Emblem Cemetery
-personal records / observations
Images
Etching of Henry Frederick Fischer's residence from the 1874 Atlas
of DuPage County.
Photo looking north-northeast (1880s),
showing the full engine house and original office prior to their
demolition, from e-bay.
Photo looking northeast (1886) from Elmhurst Historical Society.
Photo looking east, under Ehlers’ ownership from Bensenville Public
Library.
Photo looking southwest, with Ehlers family on the stage from
Bensenville Public Library.
Photo of the farm and mill from
Bensenville Public Library.
Photo of the Korthauer family with the Fischer Windmill as their backdrop
(1920s) from Aaron Lisec.
Photo after Ehlers’ restoration as Mount Emblem is constructed
(1925) from Bensenville Public Library.
Photo announcing the future site of Mount Emblem from Mount Emblem
Cemetery.
Photo Mount Emblem crew (1926) with the west wing still intact from
Elmhurst Historical Society.
Photo showing landscaping being performed from Mount Emblem
Cemetery.
Photo Mount Emblem, looking southeast (1927) from Elmhurst
Historical Society.
Photo showing the mill grounds, with finished cemetery office from
Mount Emblem Cemetery.
Advertisement in the Chicago Tribune to announce cemetery’s opening
from Chicago Tribune.
Fan depicting the cemetery’s opening.
Scan of the official Mount Emblem rulebook.
Photo of the cemetery from Grand Avenue from Mount Emblem Cemetery.
Photo looking west-southwest of Lake Emblem and the mill years after opening from Mount Emblem Cemetery.
Photo of the mill looking south from Franklin Park Library.
Photo looking southeast (1937) from Elmhurst Historical Society.
Painting of the mill, looking southwest (c.a. 1949) by John Dukes
McKee.
Photo of the Fischer Mill, prior to moving De Zwaan from the
Netherlands to Holland, MI (1964) from the Chicago Tribune.
Photo of the main entrance to the
mill (1975) from Joe and Jeanette Archie
Photo looking east (1975) from Joe
and Jeanette Archie
Photo looking south-southwest (1975)
from Joe and Jeanette Archie
Photo looking south-southwest (1980s) from
A History of Hillside.
Photo looking south-southwest (1980s) from History of
DuPage County.
Photo looking southwest (1988) by Florence Sell.
Photo looking southwest (2002) by Tom Haskell.
Photo looking west (2002) by Tom Haskell.
Photo looking south in winter (2002) by Tom Haskell.
Photo of the removed sails sitting just east of the mill (2004) by
Tom Haskell.
Photo damaged cap in winter (2004) by Tom Haskell.
Photo of the removed sails (2004)
from geocaching.com.
Photo of the removed sails (2004) from johnfromtheradio on Flickr.
Photo looking southwest (2005) by Bill O'Brien.
Photo looking east (2007) by Henryk Sadura.
Photo looking southwest (2007) by Tom Haskell.
Photo of the shipping wing, with bolting machine to the right (2007)
by Tom Haskell.
Photo of the drive shaft that was once connected to a steam engine
in the west wing (2009) by Tom Haskell.
Photo of the winch used to turn the cap (2009) by Tom Haskell
Photo looking east (2009) by Tom Haskell
Photo detailing the cap and sheer trees (2009) by Tom Haskell
Photo looking southwest of the damage to the mill from the blizzard
(2011) by Tom Haskell.
Other Images
Postcard depicting the Elmhurst State Bank Building, built by Ehlers'
Brothers Construction.
Postcard of the mill (unknown date).
Postcard of the mill (unknown date).
Image of the mural within the administrative building from Mount
Emblem Cemetery.
Image of the headstone display behind the mill from Mount Emblem
Cemetery.
Map of Mount Emblem Cemetery.
