Boyd's Windmill
Newport County, Rhode Island
The Newport Historical Society
was contacted by the show’s producer
for suggestions of sites that
might be included in their filming. The
Society’s staff provided them
with information on all of its Historic
Preservation Award winners,
along with archival material and photographs
of the properties. Out of
the list of 12 award winners, the producers
chose Boyd’s windmill and
Rockry Hall to represent Newport County.
Boyd’s windmill was built in
1810 by John Peterson and was sold to
William
Boyd in 1815. It originally was located on Old Mill Lane in
Portsmouth. It is a timber-framed,
shingle-covered, octagonal "smock"
mill. Its hemispherical cap
is turned by means of an exterior hand
chain. It originally had four
common sails, but four more sails were
added by Benjamin
Boyd, the last member of the family to own it. The
mill was donated to the Middletown
Historical society in 1990 to save it
from demolition, and was moved
to Paradise Valley Park for restoration.
A new windshaft was replicated
from a 125 year old white oak. It was
hand hewn, as were the two
replacement corner posts and other timbers
which had been destroyed.
All machinery was salvaged though some
refabrication was necessary.
The two millstones, each weighing about 2 ½
tons, were salvaged and reinstalled.
The mill will be a feature of the
Middletown Historical Society’s
continuing education program, along with
its other properties.
Boyd’s windmill is one of the
last structures on Aquidneck Island that
reflects the area’s agricultural
past. The Newport Historical Society
felt that the Middletown Historical
Society, led by President Stanley
Grossman,
should be congratulated for this painstaking restoration and
their commitment to the windmill’s
preservation and use as an
educational site.
Boyd’s Windmill, restored by
the Middletown Historical Society, and
Rockry Hall, restored by Gary
and Angela Moore, will be featured on Home
and Garden TV’s show Restore
America on February 13 at 10:00 p.m. Both
were winners of the Newport
Historical Society’s Historic Preservation
Award. The Windmill won in
1998, and Rockry Hall in 1997.
Information
courtesy of the Newport Historical
Society