Boyd's Windmill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boyd's Windmill |
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| Origin | ||||||||||||||
| Mill name | Boyd's Mill | |||||||||||||
| Mill location | Middletown, RI | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°30′03″N 71°16′11″W / 41.5007°N 71.2696°W | |||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Middletown Historical Society | |||||||||||||
| Year built | 1810 | |||||||||||||
| Information | ||||||||||||||
| Purpose | Corn mill | |||||||||||||
| Type | Smock mill | |||||||||||||
| Storeys | Three-story smock | |||||||||||||
| Base storeys | A few courses of brick | |||||||||||||
| Smock sides | Eight sides | |||||||||||||
| No. of sails | Eight sails | |||||||||||||
| Type of sails | Common sails | |||||||||||||
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Boyd's Windmill, also known as Boyd's Wind Grist Mill, is a very old and important windmill. It is located in Middletown, Rhode Island, at Paradise Valley Park. This special mill was built in 1810. It was used to grind corn into flour, which is why it's also called a "grist mill."
Boyd's Windmill is a type of building called a smock mill. This means it has a wide base that gets narrower as it goes up, looking a bit like a person wearing a smock. It has a top part that can turn to face the wind.
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History of Boyd's Windmill
The windmill was first built in 1810 by a man named John Peterson. It was originally located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. In 1815, William Boyd bought the mill.
When it was first built, the mill had four large sails. Later, the Boyd family added four more sails, making a total of eight. These sails would catch the wind to power the mill.
How the Mill Worked
The windmill is about 30 feet (9 meters) tall. It has eight sides and is made of timber. The top part of the mill can rotate. This top part has eight vanes, which are like big blades covered with canvas sheets. These vanes are what catch the wind.
Inside the mill, there are large grindstones made of Fall River granite. The top grindstone spins very fast. For every one turn of the mill's main shaft, the top grindstone turns six times! This fast movement helped to grind the corn.
In 1916, Benjamin Boyd made a big change. He took off the original wind vanes. Instead of wind power, he started running the mill using a gasoline engine.
A Special Landmark
Boyd's Windmill is very important because it is one of only two historic windmills left on Aquidneck Island. Long ago, there were more than thirty windmills on the island.
The windmill is so important to the area that it is shown on the official town seal of Middletown.
Restoration and Public Access
In 1990, the Middletown Historical Society received the windmill as a gift. They worked hard to restore it. They also moved it to its current location at Paradise Valley Park in Middletown.
Today, Boyd's Windmill is open for people to visit. You can usually visit on Sunday afternoons during July, August, and September. It's a great way to see how people used to grind grain long ago.
In 2001, Boyd's Windmill was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is recognized as an important historical site in the United States.
See also
