Little Chute was settled by the Dutch and to commemorate this, the village built a windmill similar to the ones found in the 1850s in the province of North Brabant where most of the settlers came from. It is an authentic windmill built by a Dutch Windmill company and shipped over to Little Chute where it was re-assembled. It is actually a grain windmill that can be used to make flour.
I took a half day off from work figuring we would hit the windmill and the guitar exhibit downtown Appleton. I figured we would take a quick look around the windmill, maybe climb to the observation deck, and call it a day. But we were wrong.
When we got to the Windmill, we found out we actually get a guided tour of the windmill. There are several tour guides available everyday. We were the only ones there for the tour. While our guide was explaining a few photos two men came in and joined us.
Our guide explained how Little Chute was settled and how the windmill was built before we even climbed up to the grinding floor.
After the brief history of Little Chute, which I already learned while on a historical bike ride, we climbed up to the grinding floor. It was an easy climb and there was an elevator if needed. The hubby handled the stairs just fine.
Once on the grinding floor, our guide explained how the windmill helped produce flour. We also were lucky enough to have a miller working and he explained a few more of the technical aspects of milling flour and repairing the wheel.
Then we went outside to the observation deck. With the help of the miller, we learned how to turn the windmill to face the wind as well as how he puts on the canvas covers to help with turning the blades.
It was a fascinating tour. It was much more in depth than either the hubby or I thought it would be. I would suggest anyone visiting to take a tour of the windmill. You might need to wait to spring though since it's only open April-October unless you have an appointment.
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