Windmill Museum Celebrates 25 Years

Windmill Museum Celebrates 25 Years AG WORLD Windmills were an important part of U S agriculture in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s If you want to see what some of those old water-pumpers looked like you should stop by the 20-acre Mid-America Windmill Museum near Kendallville Ind Jerry Stienbarger is on the museum board of directors and he says their site is “the heart of windmill production” because at one time there were 80 windmill manufacturers in the tri-state area within a 100-mile radius of Kendallville In 1992 a local group thought it was important to preserve this part of Americana and they created a tourist attraction in the process Today the museum has 52 restored windmills from manufacturers such as Elgin Aermotor Eclipse Dempster and Southern Cross which is from South Africa The centerpiece of the museum is a replica of the Robertson Post windmill a single stone grist mill with a 52-ft dia wind wheel The original was shipped from England and erected on the James River in Virginia in the 1620’s Mid-America is the only museum to have all 11 Flint and Walling models starting with the Original Star patented in the 1870’s and produced for 40 years The collection also includes the Star Zephyr the last model produced by the company from 1937 until 1954 Stienbarger says summer travel season is always busy for the museum However in winter several of the windmills are decorated in colorful lights and there’s a building on the site where Santa Claus has a bag loaded with treats for children and several holiday craft vendors are set up The main building on the museum site is a historic bank barn one that opens on two levels Inside there are windmill displays including a construction timeline showing where when and how long windmills were built in the U S Volunteers at the museum talk to visitors and explain the importance of windmills in settling America and why they’re even important these days Stienbarger says that since it began the museum has hosted visitors from 49 states 24 countries and all the Canadian provinces Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mid America Windmill Museum P O Box 5048 732 So Allen Chapel Rd Kendallville Ind 46755 ph 260 347-2334; www midamericawindmillmuseum org

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