Old East Windmill

he Old East Windmill at Heritage Museums & Gardens was built in 1800 in Orleans, Massachusetts. It served that community for 93 years grinding wheat, rye, barley and salt from the local salt works. During the Civil War the windmill also ground corn meal to be used as field rations for Union soldiers. In 1968, the windmill was sold to Heritage’s founder, J.K. Lilly, III, and moved to its present location. In order to make the 32 mile trip, the windmill was disassembled into four pieces. The move took ten days as each power line had to be lifted to accommodate the height of the windmill.