On breezy days, you’d be forgiven if your thoughts drift out to sea and through the massive wind turbines that are part of the South Fork Wind farm. Time was, the sea was for whalers, and a breeze on land likely meant the three windmills in East Hampton Village were churning grain.
They’re still there, reminders of a time when we were more positively connected to the environment. All three will be open to the public on Saturday, for what Hugh King, the village historian, is calling Windmill Day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Leave the phone in the car and go check them out, or at least one, and think about that breeze.
Mr. King announced the day at the September village board meeting.
“The most famous is the Hook Mill,” he said in a recent phone call. “It was built by Nathaniel Dominy in 1806, probably with the help of slaves. The wood for it was cut on Gardiner’s Island and floated over to Fireplace Beach. We know there was another mill at that location as early as 1736. How? Church records show a boy named Daniel Dayton died because he drank too much flip at its raising. Mr. Dominy used the main post of the 1736 windmill.”
In its best days, during the mid-19th century, according to “Windmills of Long Island” by Robert Hefner, former director of historic services for the village, it ground 5,000 bushels of grain into flour and feed. “In 1892, the mill was in operation for 137 days.” It ceased operation in 1908 but was restored by the village in 1939 and used seasonally into the 1950s, when Maurice Lester, who ran it, died.
The Pantigo Mill, built in 1804 by Samuel Schellinger, is the most traveled windmill in the village. It’s now located behind the Home, Sweet Home Museum but started its life at the end of Mill Hill Lane.
“In 1845 it was moved down onto Pantigo, where the Verizon building is, because when the arms turned it scared the horses,” Mr. King said. “Then it was moved to the corner of Pantigo and Egypt Lane, where it stood until 1917 and fell into disrepair.” Two Pantigo locations, hence its name.
“When Mr. and Mrs. Buek bought Home, Sweet Home, they moved it there,” Mr. King said. The village repaired the mill in 1978, but it hadn’t operated for a century prior.
“When the Gardiner Mill was built in 1804, it was the most expensive building in the entire town, after the Manor House on Gardiner’s Island,” he said. “It was owned by a consortium and, like the Hook Mill, built by Nathaniel Dominy.” It was operational until the 1930s.
The mills required frequent repair. Stepping inside, looking at all the intricate woodwork, one understands why.
They were also often damaged by storms. In fact, a few years ago when a gale blew through, the arms of the Hook Mill were beaten up. A bid for repair work will soon be submitted by Mr. Hefner. Once that work is complete, Marcos Baladron, the village administrator, said, he’d look into searching for bidders to repair the turning mechanisms on the mills, which no longer work.
The windmills have been stuck for years — not something a little 3-in-One oil can fix.
“The board would absolutely love to see the windmills turning again,” Mr. Baladron said this week. “They’re gorgeous. Real showstoppers.” Perhaps in a year, he reckoned.
