One of the perks that goes with a local history museum is the unexpected bits and pieces of information supplied by visitors. This is true for the restored windmill before you. It was moved to the museum in 1987 from the Ed Eckland Farm, and had been in use from 1919 to 1915, at the height of the homestead era.

A visitor from Sidney sent information about the windmill after he had seen the one at the museum. He discovered the information from a book titled, “A Field Guide to American Windmills. It identified the windmill as on of two types of Raymond Vaneless models, named after Albert and George Raymond who invented and patented them. It was produced in Waupan Wisconsin by Althouse Wheeler and Company. The mechanical operation of the windmill is described in A Field Guide to American Windmills saying, “as the wind speeds increase, the wooden sections of the wheels tend to pivot out of the wind because of centrifugal force, leaving an increasing large opening in the center of the wheel.”The wheel sections were made from red cypress, dipped in white lead paint, and the blade tips trimmed bright red. The book notes that they are among the most popular windmills for restoration because of their mechanical simplicity and attractive appearance. The Pipe Raymond pattern is easy to identify in the field from its W shaped counter balance…