This 1820 windmill is located in the Village of Bridgehampton, Town of Southampton, Suffolk County, New York. It was built by Samuel Schellinger for Captain Lester Beebe in Sag Harbor. At that time Sag Harbor was the commercial center for eastern Long Island and by 1840 was second only to New Bedford in the number of registered whaling ships.

The windmill's technology was taken from Schellinger's knowledge of the new New York windmills. Accurate cast iron bevel gears and the development of the fantail to keep the sails into the wind, and centrifugal governors to aid the millstones were innovative in those years. The design changes were the result of significant improvements the English had made in their windmills.

The Beebe family held the mill until 1837 when it was sold to Judge Abraham T. Rose and Richard Gelston who moved it to the commons in the center of Bridgehampton.

The most distinctive feature of the exterior is the ogee cap. Topping the cap is a stalk and ball finial supporting a whale shaped weathervane. This cap is believed to be original to the mill. It would have been an appropriate feature in style-conscious Sag Harbor.

The mill was sold and moved numerous times. The last owner, John E. Berwind, moved the mill in 1914 to his estate and willed the mill to the town of Southampton, its current owner.

Medium : Drawings

Created/Published : 1976

Creator : Historic American Building Survey, National Park Service

Frame : 1/4" shiny black metal, 20 1/2" x 29 /12"

Part of the Historic American Building Collection in the Prints & Photographs Division of the LIbrary of Congress

Price: $125.00

Availability: Usually ships in one to two weeks

Product #: FR0060