Print Size: 24" x 36" (Frame Size: 24" x 36")
Beebe Windmill was built in 1820 for Lester Beebe, a retired whaler and shipbuilder. The whale-shaped weather vane at top, believed to be original, is a nod to Captain Beebe and Sag Harbor, an early shipping and whaling center, where the windmill was originally constructed. Executed with exceptional skill by a local millwright and fine cabinetmaker Samuel Schellinger, it is one of only a handful of New York windmills to survive from the era when natural resources – wind and water – were harnessed to grind grain into flour. Two centuries later, the recently restored landmark has renewed significance as an environmental symbol for contemporary efforts to discover clean, alternative energy supplies. The structure belongs to a type of “smock windmill,” so-called for the resemblance of its sloped hexagonal walls to the blousy garments worn by farmers. The stationary wooden smock houses the milling machinery inside. It is topped by a circular roof (in this case a distinctive ogee-shaped cap) which rotates with its fantail to bring the sails into the wind and thus power the grinding machinery. Since only the upper reaches of the mill move, the fixed lower body could be reinforced and enlarged and thus made to house more machinery, grinding stones, workspace, and supplies than earlier prototypes. The Beebe mill is especially significant for its composite cast iron and wood gearing, representing a key transition from wood to metal in the evolution of American technology. In the late 1800s, marking yet another technological advance, the mill was equipped with a steam engine to lessen its dependence on the vagaries of wind. Upon completion, the 4-story structure was the tallest in Sag Harbor. According to tradition, a flag was hoisted atop its roof whenever a homeward bound whaling vessel was sited, giving rise to the local expression “flag on the mill, ship in the Bay.” The Beebe family retained ownership until 1837 after which the mill was bought and moved several times before reaching its current home in Bridgehampton. Beebe Windmill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
