Jamestown, Rhode Island, USA

Before the young republic had even a constitution, it had the Jamestown windmill. It is located on a ridge of high land that forms the backbone of its island home where it can catch the steady winds that blow in from the Narragansett Bay. Can you see how the blades can be turned to meet the direction of the wind? [2019]

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

The old windmill is the oldest landmark in Brisbane. It was reburbished in time for Australia's hundredth anniversary, but in the mid-1800s it was almost demolished because it was built by convict labor during the penal-colony era, which Australia was trying to live down at the time. As a backup to the wind, inmates powered the mill on a treadmill. [1988 and 2006]

Nederland, Texas, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! With a name like Nederland (first e is long), you should expect to see something Dutch. Many of the early settlers were from the Netherlands, so in 1969 the windmill was erected, but the main street in town is still named Boston Avenue. Go figure! Be sure to see yesterday's post. [2022]

Malacca, Malaysia

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! The Dutch took Malacca from the Portuguese in the 1600s. To commemorate that era, the city has built a Dutch windmill. It seems to be a rare case, at least in Asia, of post-colonial history proudly incorporating colonial themes. Be sure to see tomorrow's post. [2011]

Apple Valley, Utah, USA

Cattle Valley might be a more appropriate name than Apple Valley. And, were it not for that water pump windmill (or "wind engine"), even cattle could not live in southern Utah. Scenes like this are seen all over the intermountain West where watering holes must be engineered to keep the ranching economy afloat. [2019]

Montfort, Wisconsin, USA

The whole renewable fuels era is beginning to look a lot like these sleek wind turbines (with a nod to their ancestors, the windmills of old). In the renewable energy arena, the wind turbine has even surmounted hydroelectricity, accounting for 43% of electricity generated from renewables. Already, they are helping us get ready for the era of all-electric cars. [2019] 

Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Mills: Powered by running water, grist mills sustained generations of settlers on the Georgia piedmont. As a reminder, an old wooden mill was relocated to Atlanta's Stone Mountain Park in 1965. Water wheels, windmills and tidal mills (wish I could find one to photograph) all teach us the virtues of sustainability. [2020]

Palm Springs, California, USA

Windmills by the thousands provide Palm Springs (and environs) with electicity all year long. They take advantage of the Westerly winds gushing through the San Gordonio Pass. To the north and south, mountain ridges block the winds. Only here are they channeled eastward to create the windiest place in California. [2015]

Scandia, Kansas, USA

The iconic power of the American windmill is nowhere more apparent than when it is replicated in places where you least expect it. As if there weren't enough wind engines to frame our perspectives on the American west, here is one that serves the needs of a mailbox that doubles as a wind vane. [2009]

Baker, Montana, USA

American windmills (a.k.a., wind engines) made life in water-scarce environments possible by providing energy to lift ground water to the surface. Now, as economies of scale move more small holdings into the hands of corporate giants, many of the ranches and farmsteads that depended on them are abandoned. [2019]

Liberty Hill, Texas, USA

The American windmill was invented in 1854 and reached its peak in 1930. Today, those that remain (some still doing their job and others functioning as visual reminders of the past) are among the most redolent place makers of the American West. Any questions? Ask a molinologist! [2015]

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

The falls on the Big Sioux River provide Sioux Falls with the perfect excuse for a park: green in the summer and perfect for cycling, white in the winter and perfect for snowshoeing. The falls also provide the perfect excuse for a mill: Can you see the edge of the Queen Bee? [2007]

Rock Port, Missouri, USA

Don't call them windmills. Call them wind turbines. They are all over the Midwest. But, here in  Missouri you will find them only in the northwest corner. If your eyes are sharp, you can see that this is but one of many turbines in a huge wind farm. Today, a whopping 7% of U.S. electricity is generated by the wind. [2019]

Groom, Texas, USA

It was the day after the crucifixion, and the body of Jesus had already been placed in a nearby tomb. The cross stood empty. A millennium and a half later, the empty cross became a symbol of Protestant Christianity. As for the wind turbines: obviously symbols of the Trinity. [2018]

Campo, Colorado, USA

Only with a source of water was life possible on the Great Plains. That made the windmill a God-send for humans and their herds. Mills like this were as independent as the people who settled here. They were self-governing: adjusting themselves to the direction of the wind and its speed. Tanks at the base of the derrick stored the water, and still do. [2018]

Erick, Oklahoma, USA

Residents of the Great Plains just can't let all their windmills pass into oblivion. In their heyday, these wind widgets commanded the horizon of an otherwise horizontal environment. Today, they are collected, displayed roadside, and thanked for not only the water they pumped to the surface, but for the memories they made over so many years. [2018]

Benson, Arizona, USA

Visual reminders of Benson's past have been hauled off and stationed roadside to welcome everyone driving into town. Does that make them part of Roadside America? Or is that term reserved for the large and garish? [2018]

Lancaster, Ohio, USA

You know it's a mill because you can see the 'overshot' waterwheel even if you can't see the water. Rock Mill turned out meal and flour into the 20th century, then sat vacant until the 21st. Now, it is one of the finest mementos of the agrarian past in all of Ohio. And, there is a covered bridge just a slingshot away! [2017]

Cedartown, Georgia, USA

Like every structure erected in the antebellum South, the Old Mill in Cedartown was built by enslaved Africans. What a good job they did! The mill spent a hundred years grinding corn and wheat, then became a restaurant (when this photo was taken), and is now a residence. [1984]

Solar Salt Works, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

The Bonaire salt works occupy the entire southern part of the island. The area is low lying and only 12 degrees north of the equator. That makes the sun intense and the Trade Winds steady: ideal combinants for evaporation. The Trade Winds also power the wind mills that pump sea water onto the flats. Once again, nature allows itself to be commercialized. [2017]