Little Chute

There I was, driving around a pastoral countryside, minding my own business, when I stumbled on this windmill.  I couldn't believe my eyes, because I now know what a real windmill looks like (thanks to the one in Holland, MI) and this sure looked like the real thing.

front of the building

So we parked and I walked the dogs around the block.  Out front there was a sign saying they offered walking tours of the town on Saturdays, which this was, but I was really just interested in the windmill and didn't want to park my dogs, so I just stuck my head in the door to ask.  And learned that yes, this is in fact a real working 1858 windmill, the last to be imported from the Netherlands.

I told them I'd taken a tour of the one in Holland that claimed to be the only working windmill in the US and claimed they were the last to be shipped out of the Netherlands.  And the people at this one smiled and said, well, you know how those folks in Michigan exaggerate.

But this one wasn't originally an intact windmill and instead was constructed of pieces of fallen-down windmills and that's what was shipped.  So maybe they can both claim to be the last.  And maybe that's also why this one doesn't have to have a Dutch-certified miller operating it like the Michigan one does - because this one wasn't shipped as a functioning entity as the other one was.

It was clear this one was restored, because it's really a pretty building.  The sky was quite overcast when we were there so all my photos came out without much definition.  I lightened them up as much as I could, but you can't really get a clear view of the beautiful details.

rear of the building

close-up of the windmill

The town, Little Chute, doesn't appear to have any particular connection with the Netherlands until you take a close look at the names on the local businesses and the patrons of the public buildings - all very Dutch.

I was getting back in the RV when another vehicle pulled into the parking lot, a pickup with a Ted Cruz bumper sticker.  And while I was wondering why a Wisconsinite would be a Cruz supporter I noticed the Texas license plates.  So of course I went over to talk to them, and once I pointed out my own license plate, they understood why I'd noticed the Cruz sticker.  A nice family from San Antonio visiting in the area.

I haven't seen anything anywhere telling me this windmill is here, so it was just luck that I was driving around the area (trying to get away from the uncomfortable neighbors in the campground) and stumbled on it.  Shows how many treasures are hidden in America's towns, small and large, just waiting to be stumbled upon.