A Return To 'Windmill Town;' Westhampton Beach Officials Work To Save Historic Structure

Before the turn of the 19th century, there were so many windmills in Westhampton Beach that the village was unofficially dubbed “Windmill Town.”

It’s a history not many East End or village residents may be familiar with, as most of the structures became obsolete, fell into disrepair, or simply remained hidden in the depths of private estates over time.

But if the Westhampton Beach Village Board, with help from Southampton Town officials and host of consultants, has its way, it’s a history that could soon be repeated, in a sense, when a historic windmill is moved to the village’s Great Lawn and refurbished to its original splendor for all to see and explore.

There were about 35 windmills on the larger farms and high-end estates in the village, according to Larry Jones, a preservationist with Jack L. Jones, Building Conservation Ltd. of Westhampton Beach, who is helping guide village officials in an effort to save one of last standing windmills from its current site on a property at the intersection of Sunswyck and Beach lanes.

“I’m kind of the one who found it and was afraid it was going to get lost,” Jones said of the Governor John Adams Dix Windmill, named for the 19th century New York State governor who built a home on the property housing the windmill in 1870. “I had mentioned it to [Mayor Maria Moore], and we approached the owners.”

In June, the property was purchased by Adam and Didi Hutt, who have since demolished the former estate there, with plans to build a new home. The fate of the windmill was in jeopardy as well — until Jones encouraged the village to step in.

“The Hutts were not able to incorporate the windmill into their plan for their new construction and offered it to the village,” Moore said, noting that officials need to act quickly in order to remove the relic to make way for the new construction.

“Going through this whole process with this deadline looming over us,” said Deputy Mayor Ralph Urban, who along with the mayor and board member Brian Tymann have taken the lead in the preservation effort, “has been challenging, to say the least.”

One of the biggest challenges has been figuring out how to pay for both the moving and the restoration of the deteriorating windmill. Urban said estimates range from $40,000 to $80,000 to move it, and at least $400,000 for the restoration.

And the deputy mayor said in discussing the costs, the board members had decided that they didn’t want that cost to fall on village taxpayers — noting that he has had both positive and negative reactions to the plan.

“To be honest, people in the community, and other people I’ve spoken to about the windmill, the difference of opinions on saving it have been enlightening to me,” he said, noting that among his fellow board members there has also been a varying degree of interest.

“That prompted the decision that we should not use property tax money for this effort,” Urban said.

Luckily, a host of other funding sources, including a $100,000 endowment left to the village, a possible state grant and money from the town’s Community Preservation Fund, may all be tapped to move the project to completion.

Tymann noted that he had also received a mixed response to the plan but saw the pluses far outweighing the minuses and was committed to moving forward.

“I’ve had some conversations with people who are very excited and some who ask why we’re going through so much trouble to preserve it,” he said. “I understand both sides to that notion, but in the end, my approach is: Why not try? It takes some effort and thinking outside the box, but the bottom line is if we can secure funding that’s intended for things like this, where’s the downside?

“The upside is that we’re preserving part of our local history, we’re incorporating that into the newer culture of our community by educating people about our roots, and I think that’s a good enough reason to give it a shot,” he added. “So far, things have been aligning thanks to one thing: cooperation. I think that the restored windmill will be a great asset to the village, in terms of historical preservation as well as aesthetically.”

According to the town’s CPF manager, Lisa Kombrink, the fund can help pay for the restoration of the windmill, as long as it is designated as a historic structure, but cannot be used to move the windmill.

Officials acted fast to earn the historic designation. Village Planner Kyle Collins applied to the Southampton Town Landmarks and Historic District Board, according to Moore, and at a meeting in mid-January, the board adopted a resolution, finding that the windmill would be subject to landmarking. But since the village doesn’t have the authority to do that, an inter-municipal agreement must be approved between the town and village. The Town Board on Tuesday scheduled a public hearing for March 8 to consider the historic designation.

Kombrink noted that there was no issue with locating the windmill on the Great Lawn, which was purchased in 2001 from St. Mark’s Church using CPF funds, and which has certain restrictions to its use. She said it was determined that the windmill would not change the use of the property defined under the program, so it would not be an issue.

She also noted that once the windmill is landmarked, CPF funds could be used for a “substantial portion” of the restoration costs, contingent on the program’s regulations.

“Once it goes out to bid,” Kombrink said, “we’d see how much we’d pay for. I think it would be a lot of it.”

State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. has also stepped up to the plate, nominating the village for a $125,000 state grant, as part of the State and Municipal Community Projects program. “The village still has to fill out the paperwork,” Thiele said, “but it clearly qualifies and should be approved.”

As the saying goes, it takes a village — or in this case, a village, town and state.

“This is a good example of local governments working together to accomplish a shared goal, in this case, preserving a piece of our East End history for future generations,” Moore noted.

“I do appreciate everyone’s cooperation and patience,” Urban added.

There were about three dozen windmills in the village in the latter part of the 19th century, Jones estimates. But unlike the windmills on the rest of Long Island or the East End, most of the windmills in Westhampton Beach were used to pump water rather than mill grain. The water would be raised from a well and then stored in a nearby above-ground tank, used to supply water to the main house, crops and cattle, gardens on large estates, and allowing for inside plumbing.

“It was a big deal to have bathrooms at the time,” Jones said. “There’s 11 restored windmills on Long Island. This would be the only one that drew water.”

Jones and village officials hope to restore the 40-foot-tall, three-story windmill with an 18-foot base, thought to be constructed in 1874, to working condition and utilize it as an educational center to highlight the use and history of windmills in the area.

“It’s going to be crazy cool,” Jones said, “because of the educational ability.”

The restoration won’t be easy, he said. While the structure itself is in fairly good shape, it was used as living space and needs to be returned to its original state. It is missing its blades, and a new white oak shaft — weighing about 2,500 pounds — will need to be built. And an old rooster wind vane will top it off.

“It’s not the blades that are hard to rebuild,” he said, “it’s the shaft. Most everything’s there except the shaft.”

Urban, who noted that he was a former teacher in Montauk, and commuted daily from Westhampton Beach for 37 years, awed by the windmills in East Hampton and Water Mill and various historic structures, said he jumped at the chance to add a similar landmark to his hometown.

“I just admire the ingenuity of the people of the past,” he said. “For Westhampton Beach to have its windmill, I hope we can preserve it and a lot of people will enjoy it. It will be very visible on the Great Lawn when we have special events. It’s a nice balance, we have the Episcopal church there and the windmill on the former pasture. Historically, it’s in line with what we were doing. It’s kind of picturesque and will have a New Englandy feel to it.”