Fabyan Windmill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fabyan Windmill |
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Fabyan Windmill in June 2008
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| Origin | |
| Mill name | Old Holland Mill Old Dutch Mill Dutch Windmill Dutch Mill |
| Mill location | Geneva Township, Kane County, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41°52′17″N 88°18′21″W / 41.87139°N 88.30583°W |
| Operator(s) | Friedrich Brockmann (1875—1887) Louis Frederick Blackhaus (1875—1877) Herman Volberduig (1877—1885) Fred Runge (1887—1914) Colonel George Fabyan (1914—1939) Kane County Forest Preserve (1939—present) |
| Year built | Between 1848 - 1880 (estimated) |
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Dutch Mill
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| Nearest city | Batavia, Illinois |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | c. 1860 |
| Architectural style | Dutch Smock Mill |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000843 |
| Added to NRHP | June 4, 1979 |
The Fabyan Windmill is a real, working windmill that looks like the ones from the Netherlands. It was built around the 1850s. You can find it in Geneva, Kane County, Illinois, just north of Batavia, Illinois.
This amazing five-story wooden windmill stands about 68 feet (21 meters) tall. It used to be on the large property of Colonel George Fabyan. Now, it's part of the Kane County Forest Preserve District.
In 1979, the windmill was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was called the Dutch Mill on this list. The next year, it even appeared on a U.S. postage stamp! It was part of a special series of five windmills called "Windmills USA." The Fabyan Windmill originally ground grains for people.
Contents
The Windmill's Journey Through Time
Building the Mill: A German Craft
In the mid-1800s, German builders named Louis Blackhaus and Freidrick Brockmann constructed the Fabyan Windmill. They built it in York Township, between Elmhurst and Lombard, Illinois.
Colonel Fabyan Saves the Windmill
By the early 1900s, the windmill was old and falling apart. In 1914, a man named George Fabyan bought it for about $8,000. He decided to move it to his estate in Geneva Township. This new spot was by the Fox River in July 1915.
Moving the huge windmill was a big job! Colonel Fabyan spent around $75,000 to take it apart, move it, and put it back together. The Edgar E. Belding Company helped with the move.
Moving Piece by Piece
Workers carefully took the windmill apart, piece by piece. They carved Roman numerals into the large wooden beams. This helped them know where each piece went when they put it back together. Some of the biggest beams needed a team of mules to pull them.
Rebuilding the Windmill
A Danish millwright (a person who builds or repairs mills) named Rasmussen rebuilt the windmill. He had help from John Johnson and six other workers. It took 19 months to move and rebuild the mill. This windmill was special because it was thought to be the only fully automatic wind-powered mill of its kind.
The Windmill's New Owners
George Fabyan passed away in 1936, and his wife died two years later. Their estate, including the windmill, was then sold. The Kane County Forest Preserve District bought it for $70,500.
How the Windmill Works
Inside the Structure
The Fabyan Windmill is built with giant cypress wood beams. These beams are trimmed with black walnut wood. All the pieces are joined together by hand using wood dowels. There are no metal nails inside the main structure! Even the original gears were made by hand from hickory and maple wood. Each of the five floors has different working parts.
The Fabyans used the windmill to grind different types of grain. This included corn, wheat, rye, and oats. It also ground grain for Colonel Fabyan's special Jersey cattle.
The Power of Wind
At the very top of the mill, called the cap, there's a huge cogged wheel. This is called the brake wheel. The wind pushes against the sails, making the brake wheel turn. The sails are covered with canvas cloths to catch the wind better. When Fabyan bought the mill, the sails were missing. Rasmussen and John Johnson had to rebuild them completely. The sails are very wide, spanning over 74 feet (22.5 meters).
The brake wheel turns a tall upright shaft that goes all the way down through the mill. This shaft provides power to all the different parts of the mill.
Automatic Grain Movement
The Fabyan Windmill had a clever system of belt-driven elevators. These elevators moved grains from chutes to hoppers. They could even move grain from one floor to another! This made the mill almost fully automatic. In most other mills, workers had to shovel materials by hand.
The Basement Bakery
During the windmill's reconstruction, Colonel Fabyan added a new foundation to create a basement. In the basement, he put in ovens. These ovens had vents and a chimney that went underground, even passing beneath Route 25 to a building on the other side. Marble slabs and cooling racks were also installed.
People think the windmill's basement might have been a working bakery at one point. During World War I, when flour was rationed, the bakery supposedly made bread for the Fabyan family. They even made bread for their two bears, Tom and Jerry! However, it's not clear how much the bakery was actually used because the oven didn't always work well.
Why the Windmill is Special
The Fabyan Windmill is a unique type of mill for the United States. Most grinding mills here used water for power, not wind. Its wooden gears and the way it was built without metal nails are very interesting. It shows amazing technical and architectural skills.
The mill is also an example of an "America folly." This means it's a structure built mainly to make a landscape or view more beautiful. George Fabyan, who was a rich businessman, bought and moved the mill to make his estate look nicer. He kept it as a private mill, not for making money.
The Windmill Today
In 1990, the windmill became unsafe for visitors. The county even thought about tearing it down. But local citizens fought to save it! In 1997, the Forest Preserve District hired a Dutch windmill expert named Lucas Verbij. He fully restored the windmill for over $900,000. It opened to the public again in June 2005.
The Fabyan Windmill is the best example of an authentic Dutch windmill in the United States, actually it's a treasure and would be the most popular windmill in the Netherlands (we currently have 1000 windmills).
—Lucas Verbij
Today, the parts that grind flour have been fixed. Volunteers at the mill use them to show visitors how it works.
Even now, the varnish from 1915 looks almost perfect. This is because the mill's excellent construction keeps the temperature inside very steady. You can still see the Roman numeral markings carved into the beams from when it was first rebuilt!
- Virtual visit of the Windmill: [1]
