List of windmills in Massachusetts facts for kids

This is a list of traditional windmills found in the American state of Massachusetts. These amazing structures used the power of wind to do important jobs, like grinding grain or pumping water. Many of them have a long history, showing how people used to live and work.

Check out the locations in linked "map all coordinates using OpenSourcMap":

Windmills in Massachusetts: A Historic Look

Windmills are special buildings that use the wind to turn large blades, which then power machinery inside. For hundreds of years, people used windmills to grind grain into flour, saw wood, or pump water. Massachusetts has a rich history with these clever machines, with some dating back to the 1600s!

What is a Windmill?

A windmill is a machine that converts the energy of wind into rotational energy. This power can be used for many things. In the past, windmills were often used to grind wheat or corn into flour. They were also used to pump water, especially in places where water levels needed to be controlled.

Different Kinds of Windmills

There are a few main types of windmills you might find:

• Smock mills: These windmills have a tall, tower-like base that is usually wider at the bottom and gets narrower towards the top, like a smock (a type of shirt). The top part, called the cap, can turn to face the wind.
• Post mills: These are older types of windmills where the entire body of the mill can rotate on a large central post. This allowed the miller to turn the whole building to catch the wind.
• Tower mills: These are usually round stone or brick towers. Only the cap at the very top turns to face the wind, similar to a smock mill but with a different base shape.

Famous Windmills You Can Still See

Many windmills in Massachusetts have been moved or rebuilt over the years. Here are some notable ones:

• The Aptucxet Trading Post Museum Mill in Bourne is a replica built in 1971. It's a smock mill and a great example of how these mills looked.

The Aptucxet Trading Post Museum Mill in Bourne.

• The Old Higgins Farm Mill in Brewster is a smock mill that was moved to its current spot in 1974. It's a well-known landmark.

The Old Higgins Farm Windmill in Brewster.

• The Chatham Windmill in Chatham was built in 1797. It's a very old and important part of the town's history.

The Chatham Windmill.

• The Eastham Mill in Eastham is a smock mill that was originally built in 1793 and moved in 1808. It's a popular spot for visitors.
• The Old Mill in Nantucket is a smock mill built in 1746. It's one of the oldest working windmills in the country!

The Old Mill in Nantucket.

• The Jonathan Young Mill in Orleans is a smock mill that has been moved several times. It was last moved to Orleans in 1983.

The Jonathan Young Mill in Orleans.

• The Judah Baker Mill in South Yarmouth is a smock mill that was built in 1866 and moved a few times, finally to Yarmouth in 1953.

The Judah Baker Windmill.

Another view of the Judah Baker Windmill.

Windmills That Moved Around

Many windmills were built in one place and then moved to another. This was a common practice, especially for smock mills, which could be taken apart and reassembled.

• The Joe Jefferson's Mill in Bourne is a smock mill built in 1889 and moved within Bourne in 1971.
• The Copp's Hill Mill in Boston was a smock mill that was moved all the way to Salem in 1773.
• The Red Brook Mill in Cataumet was a smock mill built in 1853 and moved within Cataumet in the 1850s, and again in 1905.
• The Chatham Bars Inn Mill in Chatham was a smock mill from around 1730 that moved to South Orleans in 1830.
• The Macomber Mill in Fairhaven was a smock mill built in 1821 and later moved to Cataumet in 1853.
• The Farris Mill in South Yarmouth was a smock mill from the 1750s that moved to Indian Town in 1782, and then to the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan in 1935.

The Farris Mill, now at Greenfield Village in Michigan.

Windmills of the Past

Not all windmills have survived. Some were destroyed by storms, fires, or simply taken down as new technologies emerged.

• Boston had several windmills, including one at Windmill Point from 1636.
• The Uncle Rufus Howes' Mill in Dennis was demolished in 1874.
• The Hatsel Kelly Mill in East Dennis, built in 1775, was struck by lightning and burned down in 1869.
• The Frederick Macy Mill in Nantucket, a post mill from 1723, was demolished in 1837.

Images for kids

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  The Holbrook Tower "Windmill" in Hyannisport.

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