Boyd's Windmill, also known as Boyd's Wind Grist Mill, is a historic

smock mill The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This t ...

at Paradise Valley Park on Prospect Avenue in

Middletown, Rhode Island Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,075 at the 2020 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown." History Issue ...

. John Peterson built the windmill at the corner of Mill Lane and West Main Rd. in

Portsmouth, Rhode Island Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence Plantations, Provide ...

in 1810, and William Boyd purchased it in 1815. It originally had four

common sails Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different forms, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails. Jib sails The jib sail is found in Mediterranean countries and consists of a simple triangle of cloth wound r ...

, but four more were added by the family. The mill is a timber-frame structure, octagonal in shape, and about tall, with a rotating cap powered by eight vanes with canvas sheets. The grindstones in the middle of the mill are Fall River granite; the upper one, which is connected to the power mechanisms, rotates six times for each turn of the mill's main shaft. In 1916 Benjamin Boyd removed the original vanes and powered the mill using a gasoline engine. It is one of only two historic windmills (out of what was estimated to be more than thirty) to survive on

Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island ( ), officially known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as ...

Seal of Middletown RI at Paradise Valley Park

Boyd's Mill features prominently on the town seal of Middletown. The windmill was restored by the Middletown Historical Society after receiving it as a donation in 1990 and moving it to Paradise Valley Park in Middletown. The windmill is open to the public on Sunday afternoons in July, August and September. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2001.

References

External links

Boyd Windmill HistoryMiddletown Historical Society
{{Windmills in the United States Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Mill museums in the United States Windmills completed in 1810 Museums in Newport County, Rhode Island Smock mills in the United States Industry museums in Rhode Island Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Octagonal buildings in the United States Buildings and structures in Middletown, Rhode Island Windmills in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Newport County, Rhode Island 1810 establishments in Rhode Island Windmills on the National Register of Historic Places

See also

References

External links