A Field Guide To American Windmills

Traces the history of the use of windmills in the United States and surveys the various types of American windmills

R. Douglas Hurt recounts the settlement of the U.S. Midwest between 1815 and the turn of the twentieth century, arguing that this region proved to be the country's garden spot of the country and the nation's heart of agricultural production.

Presents nearly 180 striking images of historic windmills across North America, capturing the wind machines in a wide range of settings and uses and documenting both the construction of commercial machines and the innovative designs of individuals who built their own.

This book will help museums and historic sites interpret historic energy use within cultural contexts.

The Aermotor Windmill Company, which commenced operations in Chicago in 1888, is the nation’s sole remaining full-time manufacturer of water-pumping machines. The company’s imprint on rural America, particularly across the West, is still visible today in the tens of thousands of its windmills that bring water to the earth’s surface. Still Turning is the first book to explore the rise of the American windmill through the experience of this important company. Aermotor founder La Verne Noyes and engineer Thomas Perry developed and perfected the all-metal wind pump in the 1880s. Within a decade, the “mathematical windmill” began to dominate the market. Aermotor continued to expand and innovate. The ruggedness and simplicity of the American mechanical windmill has allowed it to outlast many newer water-pumping technologies over the years with minimal maintenance and oversight. Christopher C. Gillis traces this story and more, from the early days of the company to Aermotor’s present-day relevance as it continues to produce its iconic windmills. Still Turning is a significant contribution not only to the history of wind power but also to the history of American enterprise.