The Old Mill is the only survivor of four windmills that were once located along the range of hills on the west side of Nantucket Island. It is a smock type windmill built in 1746 by Nathan Wilbur, a local sailor who had spent time in Holland. Wilbur used oaken beams that had washed ashore from wrecked ships for much of the mill's framework, which is held together by wooden pins and scrap metal.
In 1828, the Old Mill was sold to Jared Gardner for twenty dollars. By then it was in deplorable condition. However, instead of dismantling it, Gardner, a carpenter, restored the mill to working condition capable of grinding corn. The mill was sold once again in 1866 to John Francis Sylvia, who operated it for many years with his assistant Peter Hoy until it fell into disuse in 1892. In 1897 Caroline French purchased the mill at an auction for $850 and donated it to the Nantucket Historical Association.
The Old Mill is 50 feet (15.24 m) high, with four vanes 30 feet (9.144 m) in length. The interior mechanism has a driving wheel at the top, connected to the blades. It has a fixed body containing machinery and a cap that turns to face the sails into the wind. Projecting from the driving wheel are wooden cogs that intersect with another set of wooden teeth in a vertical shaft, which in turn revolves the upper grindstone. A crude brake consisting of heavy oak beam attached by a rope and pulley to a box of stone weighing several hundred pounds was built to counteract the force of the wind. The box of stone can be raised or lowered to press the beam against the windmill shaft.[3]
Inside, seasonal visitors can watch the gears as corn is ground into meal, producing about 5 bushels an hour. Documentation of the restoration of the windmill is located at the Nantucket Historical Association's Research Center.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Old Mill (Nantucket).
December 15, 2023
mill, nantucket, massachusetts, mill, historic, windmill, located, prospect, street, nantucket, massachusetts, built, 1746, oldest, functioning, mill, united, states, mill, owned, operated, nantucket, historical, association, museum, contributing, property, na. The Old Mill is a historic windmill located at 50 Prospect Street in Nantucket Massachusetts Built in 1746 it is the oldest functioning mill in the United States The mill is owned and operated by the Nantucket Historical Association as a museum 1 It is a contributing property of the Nantucket Historic District In 1992 it was also designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 2 The Old MillU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S National Historic Landmark DistrictContributing Property2015 photoLocationNantucket MassachusettsCoordinates41 16 38 N 70 6 5 W 41 27722 N 70 10139 W 41 27722 70 10139AreaNantucket Historic DistrictBuilt1746Websitehttps www nha org sites oldmill htmlNRHP reference No 66000772Added to NRHP1966History edit nbsp 1935 photoThe Old Mill is the only survivor of four windmills that were once located along the range of hills on the west side of Nantucket Island It is a smock type windmill built in 1746 by Nathan Wilbur a local sailor who had spent time in Holland Wilbur used oaken beams that had washed ashore from wrecked ships for much of the mill s framework which is held together by wooden pins and scrap metal In 1828 the Old Mill was sold to Jared Gardner for twenty dollars By then it was in deplorable condition However instead of dismantling it Gardner a carpenter restored the mill to working condition capable of grinding corn The mill was sold once again in 1866 to John Francis Sylvia who operated it for many years with his assistant Peter Hoy until it fell into disuse in 1892 In 1897 Caroline French purchased the mill at an auction for 850 and donated it to the Nantucket Historical Association The Old Mill is 50 feet 15 24 m high with four vanes 30 feet 9 144 m in length The interior mechanism has a driving wheel at the top connected to the blades It has a fixed body containing machinery and a cap that turns to face the sails into the wind Projecting from the driving wheel are wooden cogs that intersect with another set of wooden teeth in a vertical shaft which in turn revolves the upper grindstone A crude brake consisting of heavy oak beam attached by a rope and pulley to a box of stone weighing several hundred pounds was built to counteract the force of the wind The box of stone can be raised or lowered to press the beam against the windmill shaft 3 Inside seasonal visitors can watch the gears as corn is ground into meal producing about 5 bushels an hour Documentation of the restoration of the windmill is located at the Nantucket Historical Association s Research Center References edit Nantucket Historical Association ASME Landmark ASME Landmark brochure nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Old Mill Nantucket Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Old Mill Nantucket Massachusetts amp oldid 1169567494, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
