Custom Windmills
History
A custom windmill is so named for two reasons: the builder (the
millwright) will construct a windmill for a specific person in a certain
location. Because the type of windmill built depends on the
client, there are several types of custom windmills. Some pump
water, irrigate crops, saw lumber, or grind. Depending on the
location, the windmills may be tall or short. Depending on how
much work they need to perform, they could be larger or smaller.
The other reason is that most windmills in Illinois were designed and
used specifically for large-scale “custom” wheat and corn grinding jobs
to meet the demand of its surrounding population. Before the
twentieth century, it was not possible to buy any kind of prepackaged
baked goods; everything was made from scratch, including the flour and
cornmeal used in hundreds of baking recipes. With wheat and corn
as Illinois’ most profitable crops, custom windmills (and
water mills)were used for grinding (they are also referred to as grist mills).
Colonial Illinois
To the author’s knowledge, Native Americans did not harness the
wind’s kinetic energy for machines, but they did have a very thorough
knowledge of the land and its weather patterns. It was from this
knowledge, which the natives undoubtedly bestowed upon French settlers
when they formed the Illini Confederacy, that the French created
settlements and built windmills across the southern portion of what is
now Illinois. Though forced to turn their territory over to the
British after defeat in the French and Indian War, a heavy French
influence continued in frontier Illinois.
The earliest windmill recorded in Illinois history was built near Peoria
in 1691. It is likely that this was either a French-style post
mill or a small stone tower mill. The details of its construction
are unavailable; however, we do know plenty about one of its owners.
In 1773, the
windmill was sold to Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the man credited
with founding Chicago in 1779.
Stone tower French windmills were built at other early settlements,
including
Kaskaskia and
Fort de Chartres, throughout the 1700s. Sadly, there are no
remains of these mills today, and there is little information about
them.
The first windmills in Illinois were built by French
colonists and probably looked like this.
Photo from www.allaboutwheat.info
Population Explosion
After the Land Ordinance was passed under the Articles of
Confederation, Americans began to settle the Northwest Territory.
Illinois’ population continued to expand after achieving statehood in
1818. Illinois was also a refuge for runaway slaves (in fact,
water mills were used as “stations” along the underground railroad,
including the
Graue
Mill). As the population continued to grow, towns were planned
along rivers so that water mills could be constructed.
Around this time, milling laws were also passed in Illinois, requiring
millers to take customers on a “first come, first served” basis, and
setting standards for millers’ tolls. Instead of money, millers
would be allowed to keep from each customer as payment:
1/8 of ground and bolted* wheat, rye, and other grain
1/7 of ground (not bolted) corn, oats, barley, and buckwheat
1/8 of ground (not bolted) malt and chopping grain (feed)
*Bolted means separated and bagged. Wheat, for example, produces
grades of fine flour and coarse bran. Mills were equipped with
machines that performed the task of separating the ground product for
bagging, from which the miller’s toll was received.
In the 1840s, political unrest, economic depression, and buckwheat crop
failure drove millions of Germans to America and, particularly, to
Illinois where land was abundant—and cheap, at just $1.25 per acre.
At about the same time, railroads began connecting towns in the state
and, eventually, the nation. For the first time, the products of
Illinois farmers could be shipped to any other part of the country.
With these factors, custom windmills began to appear in the prairie
state. Henry Emminga of Ostfriesland, Germany was among the first;
he built a ground-sailing
grist
mill near Golden, IL. Years later, realizing his mill needed
more power, he turned it into a stage mill by rebuilding it atop some
frame buildings.
This raised the sails by about ten feet, allowing them to catch the wind
over the height of crops, buildings, and other obstructions. The
new space on the first floor was used for storage, shipping, and
receiving. This design would be followed by all millwrights to
come.
Even though 1,800 mills once operated in Illinois, they were never
enough to keep up with fall harvest demands. With few mills
between towns, it could take a farmer days to get his “turn” at the
mill.
These modified photographs illustrate how Emminga's Custom Windmill would have looked when originally built (left) and after being rebuilt (right). Nearly all of the custom windmills to follow were patterned after the latter design
Original photo from the Golden Historical Society
Modified photos by Tom Haskell
Water for the West
The catalyst that made settling the west possible was the invention
of the
wind engine. Unlike their much larger wooden predecessors,
wind engines did not require a miller to be present to operate it.
Instead, the mill could run on its own, turn automatically if the
direction of the wind changed, and could even brake automatically in
dangerously high winds.
Wind engines
pumped
water from underground reservoirs to the surface. Thus, with
the opportunity to bring fresh, clean water to virtually any area,
farmers could successfully yield crops in the otherwise dry western
territories.
The possibility of creating a national railroad network also became
feasible with wind engines. Railroads, which operated using steam
engines, erected wind engines near depots across the country, allowing
engineers to replenish an engine’s water tank as needed.
With immigrants pouring into the country, thousands of acres of new
crops being harvested, and a nation-wide railroad network, the
agricultural economy boomed, sparking a national demand for lumber and
grist mills.
An original Pearl wind engine, now on display at Batavia's Riverwalk near the old manufacturing plant
Photo by Tom Haskell
Post Civil War
Mill building and expansion came to a halt as resources were shifted
for the Civil War effort. Some, including Emminga, left the
country to avoid conflict. After the war, however, Illinois’
economy again boomed and encouraged more mill building. More than
half of the custom windmills that ever existed were built between 1865
and 1875 and had great business success.
Interestingly, the windmills built in America were not strictly Dutch,
German, English, or French, but rather a blend of architecture and
technology developed over the history of milling. Each was custom
built to that millwright’s specifications. These advanced mills
were often constructed with the latest in efficient milling technology,
including grain elevators, bolting machines, corn shellers, and
wheat-cleaners that were all wind powered. Some mills were
equipped with patent shutter sails; some had tail-fans to automatically
turn the cap into the wind.
All were designed specifically for large-scale production and, weather
permitting, were always open for business. With every windmills’
proximity to a railroad, it also allowed farmers to directly ship their
freshly-ground flour and meal anywhere in the country.
Most windmills were razed or abandoned at the beginning of the twentieth
century. Steam-powered roller mills were more reliable and
efficient than their wooden wind predecessors. As the suburbs of
Chicago expanded, acres of fields became subdivisions, and mills were
destroyed in the process. The few that did survive belong to
private landowners who, wisely, chose to preserve them.
The Fabyan Windmill, incorrectly identified as being in Aurora, but correct in that it was once located along the Aurora, Elgin, and Chicago Railroad
Postcard from DigitalPast
Custom Windmills Today
Despite being saved from demolition, the four surviving windmills in
Elmhurst,
Geneva,
Golden, and
Peotone all faced neglect shortly after their disuse. Over the
years and through changes in ownership, each mill has been renovated.
Two of these mills—the Fabyan Windmill in Geneva and the Prairie Mills
Windmill in Golden—have recently been fully restored and are
operational.
The windmill in Peotone was kept in the Rathje family for years before
turning it over to Peotone; its historical society is in the process of
raising the funds necessary to continue restoration of the mill.
The Fischer Windmill in Elmhurst—the oldest standing windmill in the
state—was restored when Mount Emblem Cemetery was created, but has been
left to rot since. Because of its slow deterioration, the mill
that was once a museum is now permanently
closed
to visitors.
In 1999, Fulton began a project to construct a new, fully operational
Dutch windmill on the flood control levee overlooking the Mississippi
River. Within two years,
De Immigrant was complete and grinding grist. In 2010 the
Windmill Cultural Center—the first museum dedicated to windmills in
Illinois—opened its doors across the street.
Although Illinois probably had the highest concentration of custom
windmills, it is not the only state with windmills you can visit.
See the
tourism page for an alphabetized list of surviving windmills.
