Long Island community comes together to save historic windmill

Community saves historic Long Island windmill from demolition

A historic windmill in Westhampton Beach, once destined for demolition, has been preserved and restored through community efforts, now standing proudly on the Great Lawn as a symbol of local heritage. FOX 5 NY's Jodi Goldberg speaks with some of the people who saved it.

A historic windmill will remain standing after a community on Long Island came together to save it. 

The towering treasure was built in the 1800s by New York Gov. John Adams Dix and withstood the hurricane of 1938. 

The windmill was built in the 1800s

The house it was connected to was going to be torn down, with the windmill slated to go with it. But thanks to the work of community members, the windmill has found its forever home as the focal point on the Great Lawn in Westhampton Beach.

The Westhampton Beach windmill survived the hurricane of 1938

Saving the windmill

Local perspective:

Community members came up with the money to save the windmill through fundraisers and grants. It’s one of 12 windmills on Long Island. 

"We were known as a windmill town - every other town or village in the East End has a windmill," said Eleanor Daly Kobel, a trustee for the Greater Westhampton Historical Museum. 

The windmill was cut into four pieces, moved down Main Street and then meticulously made over. The same style wind vein sits atop the more than 40-foot structure, and many of the original beams still hold it together.

What they're saying:

"We got this done without it costing the taxpayers a penny," said Bryan Tymann, a trustee for the village of Westhampton Beach. 

What's next:

When the renovation work is complete, the rescued windmill will be the only one on the island that pumps water. A pump from the 1850s was restored in Ohio and brought back to Westhampton to connect to the windmill. 

"The blades will turn, it’s going to be completely working, which is amazing," Kobel said.