Custom Windmills
Prairie Mills Windmill
Golden Windmill
902 Prairie Mills Road
Golden, IL 62339
Status
Open and operational
Tours
Tours are available during open hours, by chance, or by appointment. Visit their website for current pricing information.
Hours
May to October
Saturday: 12:00 to 4:00 P.M.
Sunday: 1:00 to 4:00 P.M.
Closed / non-operational during winter.
Wheelchair Accessible
Ground level only
Website
Tower Height
60'
Sail Span
71'
Uses
(1873 - 1930s) (2002 - present) Rye
(1873 - 1930s) (2002 - present) Graham
(1873 - 1930s) (2002 - present) Corn
(1874 - 1930s) (2002 - present) Buckwheat
(1874 - 1890s) (2002 - present) Wheat
Constructed
(1872 - 1873) Original
(1998 - 2004) Restoration
Millwrights
Henry Emminga (Original)
Derek Ogden (Restoration)
Owners
Henry Emminga (1872 - 1878)
Harm Emminga (1878 - 1915)
John Emminga (1915 - 1923)
Fred Franzen (1922 - 1930s)
Independent Owners (1930s - 1986)
Golden Historical Society (1986 - present)
Honors
(none)
The Prairie Mills Windmill, grinding again since 2002, is the only operating windmill in Illinois with patent sails and has all of its original grinding stones.
Photo from Golden Historical Society
History
The Prairie Mills Windmill is unique in that it is the only operational,
locally-built windmill that still uses its original gearing and grinding
stones. It is also unique in that it is the only surviving
windmill in Illinois—and one of few ever in Illinois—to have used patent
shutter sails rather than canvas.
Construction on the Prairie Windmill began just two months upon Henry
Emminga’s return to the United States in 1872 after spending enjoying
successful business with his second smock mill in Felde, Germany.
He settled in Golden, Illinois once again, but this time on a farm about
a mile southeast of his old
Custom Mill, which was probably the best location for a mill: the
site is just footsteps away from the Wabash and the Burlington Northern
railroads.
Once again, the windmill was built with just local resources (except for
the French grinding stones). Hand-hewn oak timber and 35 loads of
rocks were laid out on Emminga’s new 33-acre plot. In spite of the
fact that the Prairie Mills is the newest of his three and is probably
the best-crafted, Emminga first built this windmill without the
technological advancements seen in other windmills in the state.
For instance, raising grain to the grinding floor was done by using a
simple sack hoist as opposed to grain elevators. Stone tentering
still had to be done by hand (although, because the Prairie mill ground
such a variety of grains, it was probably better to have this done by
hand) as well. Still, this windmill probably has the best
construction out of all the mills in the state. Its gearing was
built so well that its parts did not need to be refurbished later; and
it is one of few mills to have originally been built with a copper
wind shaft and iron quants.
The mill began grinding in September 1873 despite a delay in wheat
processing; Emminga was unable to obtain a bolting machine for wheat
flour and thus delayed installing a third set of stones. By the
following year, however, the Prairie Mills Windmill was grinding
award-winning flour and grains from all over the Midwest. Although
business was booming, Henry Emminga was aging. When he grew older,
he could no longer operate the mill and thus sold it to his son, Harm
Emminga, in the fall of 1878. Henry then moved back to Germany
where he died eight years later.
Harm Emminga continued to operate the windmill using wind power, but to
increase wheat flour capacity he built a “New Era” steam-powered mill
across the street along the rail tracks. Business continued to go
well for Harm as new milling technology eventually allowed him to mill
more flour (by using rollers instead of heavy stones) at the New Era
mill, while the Prairie mill continued to operate grinding corn as well
as specialty grains such as rye, buckwheat, and graham.
Around 1900, Harm changed the design of the sails on the Prairie mill to
ease operation. Rather than climb the sails to rig canvas, Harm
installed shutters that were operable by a lever. This was,
perhaps, the first and only mill in Illinois to operate with shutter
sails rather than canvas.
Harm operated the business until his death in 1915, when his son John
took over. At the beginning of the twentieth century, business was
steady but probably not as profitable as it once was. In 1922, he
formed a partnership with Fred Franzen who continued to operate the
Custom Windmill. Together, the men formed the Consolidated Cereal
Company, using all three locations to mill local grains. John
Emminga, however, lost interest in the business, and decided to sell his
shares just one year later. Franzen, operating the three mills,
kept the business going but had problems beginning in 1924 when a storm
damaged two of the Prairie Mill’s sails. The mill was converted to
gasoline engine power but, inevitably, the higher operating costs and
the Depression forced Franzen to sell the mills in the 1930s.
There was very little interest in the Prairie mill until 1986. The
town of Benson, Illinois offered a bid to purchase the mill.
Infuriated locals retaliated by raising the money necessary to purchase
the windmill under the newly formed Golden Historical Society.
After raising more funds, the society turned to Derek Ogden, a
world-renowned millwright with the Society for the Preservation of Old
Mills (SPOOM) to examine the windmill. In spite of some structural
problems, most of the windmill’s inner gearing, left untouched since the
1930s, was still operable.
All three wing buildings and the cap were completely rebuilt, although
there were no problems whatsoever with the brake wheel, brake band, or
wind shaft. The tower needed the most work, as the limestone
foundation allowed water to seep into the tower and rot the main
framework. The society also chose to operate the mill with two
traditional canvas sails and two shutter sails. The mill began
grinding again in 2002, 70 years after closing.
In 2004, rot apparently caused the tail pole to snap, immediately
shutting down production at the mill (since the tail pole supports a
portion of the cap’s weight). Luckily, two grants totaling $6700
covered the cost to replace the tail pole. That same year,
restoration of the north wing was completed.
The Prairie Mills Windmill was also featured on the PBS series “Illinois
Adventure” with Jim Wilhelm. Jim details the history and workings
of the mill, as well as some interesting historical trivia about the
residents of Golden, IL.
Sources
-Accounts of the Fabyan Mill’s Origin. Ron Behnke, 2005.
-www.goldenwindmills.org
-Illinois Adventure with Jim Wilhelm
-photographs
-Prairie Mills Windmill. Golden Historical Society, 2005.
-Wienke, Anna.
When the Wind Blows… Golden: Taylor Publishing Company, 1998.
-Prairie Mill. Golden Historical Society.
Images
Photo showing sails with canvas (1900s) from Golden Historical
Society.
Photo showing shutters on its sails (1909) from Golden Historical
Society.
Photo of the still operating mill (1916) courtesy Paul van den Berg.
Photo of the tail pole, probably with Harm Emminga standing on stage
(1910s) courtesy James Waughon.
Photo after restoration in with only one of three wing buildings
(2002) from Golden Historical Society.
Photo of the completed windmill (2004).
Photo from the Prairie Mills pamphlet (2005) from Golden Historical
Society.
Photo of the completed Prairie Mills (2008) from Golden Historical
Society
