Geneva, Illinois: Fabyan Old Dutch Windmill
Built from a kit between 1850 and 1860, this old Dutch windmill is considered to be the best of its kind in the U.S., and maybe the Netherlands, too.
- Address:
- Crissey Ave., Geneva, IL
- Directions:
- On the west side of Crissey Ave./Hwy 25 about a quarter-mile north of E. Fabyan Pkwy.
- Hours:
- Sa-Su 1-4 mid-May-Oct (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 630-208-8662
- Admission:
- Free
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Fabyan Old Dutch Windmill
This thing is massive! It's located right next to the roadway in Fabyan Woods Forest Preserve (southeast of downtown Geneva). We kept seeing signs for tours, but the gift shop inside the windmill was closed.
If you cross the river, there's a strange house surrounded by trees, and a large Japanese garden with big pools and real snapping turtles! The house is a Frank Lloyd Wright house and is also a museum of some sort. It was also closed when we were there, but the garden is really fun to explore.
[Ben Perdue, 06/13/2016]Fabyan Windmill
This windmill was built c. 1875 by a couple of German immigrants, who put it together using a prefabricated Dutch-built kit. It was moved from Lombard to Geneva during 1914 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It appeared on a U.S. postage stamp in 1980. A third-generation Dutch windmill maker was hired to completely restore the mill during the first few years of this century.
Volunteer millers and docents operate the mill and lead tours Saturdays and Sundays from mid-May to mid-October. Seeing all of its moving parts in action is a real treat. The mill stands 68 feet tall atop a grassy knoll overlooking the Fox River.
[Jon Morgan, 06/27/2013]The windmill restorer supposedly said that this Illinois windmill would shoot right to the top of the Most Popular Windmill list if it were in the Netherlands.
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The 68 ft. tall windmill was made from a kit by German craftsman Louis Blackhaus in the 1850s.