Victoria Grist Windmill

Summary

Victoria Grist Windmill is an historic gristmill in Memorial Square in Victoria, Texas, United States. The windmill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1976, and became an American Society of Mechanical Engineers Landmark in May 1991.

Victoria Grist Windmill
Victoria Grist Windmill in 2008
Victoria Grist Windmill is located in Texas
Victoria Grist Windmill
Victoria Grist Windmill
Victoria Grist Windmill is located in the United States
Victoria Grist Windmill
Victoria Grist Windmill
LocationMemorial Park in Victoria, Texas
Coordinates28°48′1″N 97°0′0″W / 28.80028°N 97.00000°W / 28.80028; -97.00000
Area0.1 acres (0.040 ha)
Built1870 (1870)
Built byOtto Feik
ArchitectF.G. Wittke
Architectural styleTower-type windmill
NRHP reference No.76002079[1]
RTHL No.14443
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 30, 1976
Designated RTHL1962

The windmill was built in 1870 and is probably the last remaining windmill of European design in the Southwestern United States. Standing 35 feet high and supporting four 15-foot blades, the Dutch turret-mill style windmill was constructed by German immigrant Fred Meiss, Jr. and Otto Fiek near Spring Creek. The turret-style allowed the top to be turned so the sails face the wind. The millstones were made in Germany, and Rudolph Witte brought them through the port of Indianola in the 1840s. The stones were capable of grinding 500 pounds of cornmeal a week. The walls of the mill are constructed of wooden logs and covered with shakes. In 1935, the Victoria Grist Windmill was moved from its earlier location (west of Victoria) to Memorial Square.[2][3]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Victoria Grist Windmill". National Park Service.
  3. ^ "#151 Victoria Dutch Windmill (1840s)". American Society of Mechanical Engineers.