Old Dutch Mill

In the late 1800s, Kansas corn and wheat farmers did their grinding my hand.  Dutch immigrant and farmer John Schonoff felt there was a better way of doing it. Inspired by his homeland, Schonoff built a traditional windmill on his farm, about 12 miles north of the town of Wamego, Kansas.  The tower is 40 feet tall and 25 feet in diameter at its base.

 Schonoff hand-forged most of the iron parts of the mill mechanisms himself.  He also designed and hand-built the wooden parts.  In partnership with a local stone mason, John Chadwick, the limestone used for the tower was quarried on the farm near the windmill.  Chadwick also constructed a statue of Ceres, the Goddess of Grain, over the second floor window.

 The farm was purchased by Ed Regnier in 1897 and he used the windmill mainly for storage.  When upkeep of the mill started to become a problem, it was proposed to donate the windmill to the City of Wamego.  In 1924, the mill was taken apart stone by stone and each piece was numbered.  Using 35 horse-drawn wagons, the mill was hauled to Wamego where it was reassembled on a mound overlooking Wamego City Park.

 Today, the windmill overlooks the lake in Wamego City Park.  The Wamego Historical Museum also sits nearby in the park.  The windmill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.