Windmills and water mills are truly the wonders of an
earlier era, the wooden technology of yesteryear.
To us, they may be graceful and charming relics. To the
colonists, however, they were a vital necessity. Colonial
craftsmen constructed them to mill grain, saw wood, pump
water, and do various other jobs. Furthermore, the mill was
the gathering place for the villagers. While they waited for
their grain to be milled, the villagers exchanged news and
gossip and stories. Millers were well respected not only for
their mill's output but also for their own weather forecasts,
knowledge of engines and machines, and, of course,
up-to-date news.
Long Island is an ideal place for catching the steady wind
from the ocean and bays: 125 miles long, narrow--only
20 miles across at its widest, and relatively flat. Thus, many
windmills were built here and still exist here, particularly
at the island's east end. As a matter of fact, the south fork
of eastern Long Island contains the greatest number of
surviving windmills in the United States. Before 1700,
Long Island also had many water mills, some of them
powered by the tide.