Custom Windmills
Lahman Windmill
1742 Reynolds Road
Franklin Grove, IL 61031
Status
Destroyed by owner, 1900
Uses
(1875 - ?) Grist
(? - 1900) Tile
Constructed
(1874 - 1875)
Millwrights
John Lahman Strock
Joseph C. Lahman
John D. Lahman
David F. Lahman
Owners
John Lahman Strock (1874 - 1888)
Joseph C. Lahman (1874 - ?)
John D. Lahman (1874 - ?)
David F. Lahman (1874 - ?)
F. D. Lahman (1888 - 1900)
C. W. Lahman (1888 - 1900)
F. A. Down (1888 - 1900)
E. R. Irwin (? - ?)
The Lahman Windmill after being converted to produce tiles
Photo courtesy Ellen Baker
History
There are two historical texts associated with this windmill.
The first comes from the Encyclopedia of Illinois: “The Wind Grist Mill
was built in 1874 near the southeast limits of the village, by J. L.
Strock, J. C., J. D. and D. F. Lahman, at a cost of $13,261. The wheel
was 80 feet in diameter and, at its top, was 105 feet above ground. The
enterprise did not prove to be profitable. The property changed hands
several times, and was finally converted by J. L. Strock into a tile
factory, which was successfully conducted for a number of years until
his death in 1888, and afterwards by F. D. and C. W. Lahman and F. A.
Dow. A succession of dry seasons reduced the demand for tile and, in
1900, the machinery was exchanged for western land and the buildings
sold.”
The next comes from Lee County History: “In 1875 E. R. Irwin
erected a large flour mill east of town. This was a large wind mill with
40 foot blades to catch the wind. It was a prosperous business venture
for many years until 1890 when it was converted into a tile factory,
with the top of the structure being removed. In 1900 the entire
building was ultimately torn down.”
The windmill also gained mention in a local publication when the author
interviewed the volunteers of the
Franklin Creek Grist Mill, a reconstructed, fully operational water
mill in Franklin Grove, Illinois. It is written that the windmill
that once stood in town was erected by John Strock and brothers Joseph
Lahman, John Lahman, and David Lahman. The “new, improved” mill
was built in 1875 at a cost of $13,000. It had “enormous fan
blades, sails, eighty feet in diameter; a Dutch-type
windmill...Eventually it was converted to a tile factory and then
razed.”
Ellen Baker, the current landowner, appreciates the history of the site
and is proud to say that remnants of the mill, which she has preserved
and recorded, are still present. She writes that the great timbers
of the mill were sold off: some to an addition to a barn, which still
stands on Reynolds Road and Ashton Road in Ashton, Illinois; and some
are in buildings still standing on the Walgreen Estate in Dixon,
Illinois. According to her research, the windmill was first used
as a tile factory and was later converted to a grist mill before being
torn down.
Sources
-Bardwell, A. C. Encyclopedia of Illinois: History of China Township,
IL. Chicago: Munsell Publishing Company, 1904.
-www.leecountyhistory.com
-Aschenbrenner, Caralee. “Please Don’t Quote Me…” Be a Prairie
Advocate. July 27, 1994.
-Ellen Baker, current landowner
