De Zwaan, Holland, Michigan
N 42° 47.919 W 086° 05.747
16T E 573941 N 4738852
De Zwaan is an authentic Dutch windmill in the city of Holland, Michigan, USA. The windmill's name is Dutch for The Swan or Graceful Bird. It is the only authentic, working Dutch windmill in the United States.
Waymark Code: WM12E4
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 12/25/2006
Views: 115
When Holland, Michigan residents Willard Wichers and Carter Brown were looking for a way to pay homage to the city's Dutch heritage, they began a project to bring a Dutch windmill to the United States. However, many of these monumental structures had suffered serious damage in World War II. As a result, the Dutch government had placed a ban on the sale of its windmills. Wichers and his group were able to gain an exemption by selecting a heavily damaged mill known as De Zwaan. De Zwaan was at the center of a controversy, with three local agencies unable to decide upon the future of the damaged windmill. The Dutch government decided to sell it to Wichers for $2800, making De Zwaan the last windmill to leave the Netherlands.
In October, 1964, De Zwaan arrived aboard the Prins Willem van Oranje at the Muskegon harbor where it was unloaded and trucked to Holland to a manmade island. Over the winter, the windmill was reconstructed.
In April 1965, the 125-foot windmill was formally dedicated on Windmill Island, a 36-acre site reclaimed from a swamp on the eastern end of Lake Macatawa. It is open from late April through early October. You can drive out to the parking lot or walk without paying the entrance fee outside of the tourist season.
When winds are favorable (15 to 20 miles per hour) from the west, De Zwaan's 80-foot diameter blades are usually in motion.
Date of Manufacture: 01/01/1761
Purpose: Milling
Open to the public: yes
Is This Windmill Functional?: Yes!
Windmill Farm: no
Cost: 7.00 (listed in local currency)
Museum on Site: yes
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Visit Instructions:
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