Mid-American Windmill Museum
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I had read about this place in the Sunday travel section of the Washington Post a few years ago. I had cut out the article and put it on my places to visit sometime never thinking that I would ever remember or make it. When I was in Ft. Wayne, IN I saw one of those tourist flyers that are in the racks of hotels and jumped at the opportunity. I was not disappointed.
Kendall, IN was the center of windmill manufacturing in the 1800's. It was close to the mid-continent prairie, where most of the sales occurred, but still had native forests for use in the manufacturing of windmills. The large windmill to the left is a reproduction of a colonial era windmill. In this design the entire structure is rotated manually maintain the rotor facing the wind. This was constructed from original plans.
The museum location is on the edge of town in a rural residential area. This means when the wind blows, as it always seems to do on the prairie, there is no sound of cars and business', just the wind and the turning of the windmills.
A very relaxing place.
....Gary
This page was last updated: December 16, 2007
