Pella, Iowa windmill

If you travel through the upper Midwest, you might see these signs of 21st century wind power.

But wind energy isn’t something new, as we were reminded when visiting the historic town of Pella, Iowa.  In the early part of the 21st century, this town founded by Dutch settlers had their own windmill built to remind us of days gone by.    According to the Pella Tulip Time website, the authentic working Dutch Mill was  built partly in Holland and assembled in Pella by skilled Dutch craftsmen. The mill grinds wheat into flour using only wind power and is the tallest working windmill in the United States.  It costs $8 to tour the working mill and the historic village, but I thought it was well worth the money!

All of the wood work inside the three story mill is amazing!  This shows the chute where the wheat is poured down into the millstones to be ground.The mill stones are quite large!

I was totally enchanted and felt like I was on a sailboat of the prairie.