Robertson's Windmill Flies!... Again! (2022)

Peering through fence slats at Robertson's Windmill, 2017

In 2015, I wrote a fun post about the successful re-lifting of the Colonial Williamsburg windmill back onto its post. I thought everything was concluded, good and dandy. 

... SIKE! Seven years later, the saga continues with new twists and turns.

So, quick rewind if you don't feel like reading the past article. The windmill was originally constructed in 1957 behind the Peyton Randolph House along North England Street. In 2010, after over a decade of being out-of-order, it was moved in pieces to a lot between Great Hopes Plantation and the Visitors' Center. In September 2015, the windmill was finally put back together and made viewable to guests. Huzzah! It was expected to open and be workable in the following month.

Windmill flying! 2015

Now, onto newer history. In early 2016, the windmill had still not opened. It was reported the mechanics had needed a larger overhaul than expected, but it was now on track to open in a couple months. This opening also did not happen.

In 2017, Colonial Williamsburg announced it was in dire financial trouble, and could not keep going as it had been. In an effort to save money, many actions were taken, including shuttering the Great Hopes Plantation. The trades that took place there were moved into the Historic Area -- the carpenter's yard moved to the corner of Nicholson and Botetourt streets, while a farming plot was set up behind the Prentis Store. 

Although Great Hopes had been a good depiction of colonial farm life, it had never been a huge draw. Being outside the Historic Area, just beyond the Visitor Center bus stop, it was out of the way from most visitors. The windmill was moved there to expand the farming interpretation, as well as visually draw guests to the farm. It was a good idea, and possibly could have worked if the Foundation's finances had been on better footing. When the site closed, the windmill lost its purpose for being there. It became a picturesque landmark only seen by guests taking the walking trail. Surrounded by fences, it was inaccessible for any closer looks.

Windmill in January 2022

Sign in January 2022 promising that "plans are underway
to develop the site for future visitor programming."
This same sign had been up since 2016-2017.

Jump to 2022. Colonial Williamsburg decided to move the windmill back into town. This time, on a plot of land on the corner of Francis Street and Bucktrout Lane. “It’s moving to a site where it’s going to see more use and maintenance and where visitors will have much greater access to it,” said Matt Webster, CW's executive director of Architectural Preservation and Research Department. On April 21, a crane lifted the mill portion off of its post again. A structural issue was discovered during disassembly, leading to a delay of further mill movement. Eventually, the issue was remedied, and the windmill made its move early in the morning on August 8!

Grounded windmill, May 2022

Here is a video of the mill house being driven down Duke of Gloucester Street:

And here is another one of it being lowered onto its post later that day:

Robertson's Windmill has now joined an exclusive club of Williamsburg buildings that have been moved around the Historic Area twice, including the Travis House and the John Galt House. It's more common than you might think!

Work continues on reassembling the windmill. Current plans for its future involve it being "passively interpreted through signage." It will be part of a new farming interpretation site "Ewing Field," named after the plot's 18th century owner, Ebenezer Ewing. A mini-Great Hopes Plantation, but just across the street from an established bus stop. It will definitely make this location more visible and accessible. I hope it will be a success. Third time's a charm, right?

Williamsburg Windmill, late August 2022

Great Hopes Plantation remains for now, its paths and fields overtaken by grass. Being outside the Historic Area and a modern creation to showcase rural colonial life, there's not much historic reason to preserve what is there. Colonial Williamsburg has been looking into options to reuse the land. In 2018, they applied for a 2-year permit to use the space as an outdoor event venue. I don't know of any event or concert that took place there during that period.

Great Hopes Plantation

Windmill's former footings left at Great Hopes Plantation
Late August 2022

The lime kiln I saw being constructed in 2015 was eventually completed. It was tested in January 2021, with the first fire with lime shell in April 2021. Kind of sad it is very out of the way. If the Great Hopes property does get reused, not sure what will happen with it.

Lime Kiln, 2022

Well, that's all the news I have for now. Good luck to the windmill! May your sails finally catch favorable winds.

Backside of Williamsburg Windmill, late August 2022

Bonus Video

Tour of the windmill from May 2020:

Previous Post

Robertson's Windmill Flies! (2015)

Sources Used

Testing the winds with Colonial Williamsburg's windmill (2016)

Old-school saw pit a throwback in Colonial Williamsburg (2017)

Americans’ Declining Interest In History Is Hitting Museums Like Colonial Williamsburg Hard (2017)

Palace Farms site to introduce new Colonial Williamsburg event venue (2018)

Emily Campbell Facebook Post Jan 28, 2021: Architectural Preservation and Research at CW

Matthew Webster Facebook Post April 28, 2021: Architectural Preservation and Research at CW

Gone with the wind: Colonial Williamsburg to move historic windmill (2022)

Steve Chabra Facebook Post April 21, 2022: Architectural Preservation and Research at CW

Plowing New Ground: Connecting With the Past at Ewing Field (2022)

Colonial Williamsburg’s Windmill Moves to New Location (2022)

Return to Windmill Point of Nags Head

Windmill Point, 2016. Just a decade ago, a windmill would have
dominated this view.

Short story short, I went to the Outer Banks for vacation. And I found myself out on Windmill Point, the fabled former SS United States mecca.

For those who didn't read the overview of Windmill Point in my post about the ship's bell, here's a brief recounting: Windmill Point Restaurant was owned by SS United States collector Dr. Sarah E. Forbes. She decorated the whole place with furniture and artwork from the ship. Outside the restaurant was the Point's namesake windmill. Over the decades, both windmill and restaurant became local icons. In 2007, the restaurant closed. The property was bought by the Dare County Tourism Board and the town of Nags Head. In 2011, having found no one to use the building, they let local firefighters purposely burn the building down to practice their fire skills.

I put aside some time during my vacation to find the old point. As the restaurant's still-active website states, it was located at milepost 16.5, 158 on the Bypass in Nags Head.

The property is now called The Soundside. It is "one of the largest event sites on the Outer Banks." The Windmill Point property was combined with an empty northern lot, offering almost 10 acres of outdoor event space. On the morning I was visiting, they were getting ready for the last day of the OBX Brewfest. Luckily for me, the festival was using the other side of the property, with the Point's side as overflow parking.

OBX Brewfest 2016 at The Soundside

Windmill Point is now a grassy field. Nowhere is there any mention of a windmill or a point. There is mention of a restaurant, but only because there is one next door.

Facing the Roanoke Sound, towards what once was
the front of the Windmill Point Restaurant and parking lot.

So what remains?

I'm actually a little proud, I did find something on property. Pieces of the restaurant's parking lot asphalt are still there!

Bits of asphalt in the grass at former Windmill Point

Better known and more exciting than asphalt, the windmill of Windmill Point was saved from destruction. It moved in 2010 to Island Farm, an outdoor living museum on 19th century coastal farming.

Windmill Point's windmill at Island Farm

And, of course, all of the SS United States memorabilia was removed before the building burned. That all exists, with most of the collection going to the SS United States Conservancy.

Visiting the Point, I wish I had gone when the restaurant was still there. It felt like I was trying to find a fleeting glimpse of a ghost. For a place that was/is so revered by Big U aficionados, it felt physically very blank and empty.

(Is it fitting/ironic that once the fireproof ship's artifacts were gone, the wooden restaurant went out in a blaze of glory? Like only the most worthy structure to hold these items can stand the test of time?)

The Windmill Point Restaurant was as much a celebration of the ship's legacy as it was its first museum. It was filled with love, laughs, and lobster. Now, it only exists in the minds and memories of those who visited so long ago. May we toast to the good times that were had on the Windmill Point.

Roanoke Sound from former Windmill Point

Journey of the SS United States' Bell

SS United States' Bell in Trible Library, 2013

Like most items related to the SS United States (including the ship itself), the United States' bell has had a couple of owners and an interesting story along the way.

From 1950 to 1952, the new superliner SS United States was built at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Newport News, Virginia. Once completed, she hit the Atlantic for a record-breaking crossing and an accident-free service career. Along for the ride was the the ship's bell. It remained on the ship throughout her service career. When the ship was laid up in 1969, the bell stopped ringing, but remained on board.

1984 rolled around, and the ship's current owners were running out of money. They decided to sell the interiors in an auction. This included the ship's bell. The bell was the most expensive item sold, won for $30,000. Its new owner was Dr. Sarah E. Forbes, a Newport News physician, who had bought a huge chunk of the ship's items.

Forbes used everything she bought to populate her Windmill Point Restaurant, which opened 1987 in Nags Head, North Carolina. Everything from the tables, chairs, bar (kidney-shaped), art, railing, signage, a few doors, even some of the kitchen appliances were from the ship. It became a well-beloved spot in the Outer Banks. (See some pictures of the interiors HERE). The ship's bell was placed by the entrance and was one of the first treasures you could see as you walked through the front doors.

(Why called Windmill Point? The building was originally built in the 1970's as a store to help restart the Outer Banks use of windmill power. An 18th century replica windmill was built outside. It didn't catch on. After the the shop closed, the windmill remained and became a local landmark.)

In 2007, the restaurant closed. Forbes sold the property to the Dare County Tourism Board and the city of Nags Head in late 2008, taking the memorabilia with her. In March 2011, after no one wanted to use it and it was deemed being too expensive to renovate ($300,000), the Windmill Point Restaurant was given to the local fire department to do fire training. The building was burned down. (The windmill was saved, moved to The Island Farm on Roanoke Island)

Forbes decided to donate a large amount of her United States items to the Mariners' Museum in Newport News. Some she kept in storage, which was later put on auction in 2015.

One particular item, however, made its way to Christopher Newport University (CNU). Although she never enrolled there, Forbes was a lifelong supporter of her hometown's college. She donated money to start raising money for a new science building and bell tower. Along with it, she gave the school the SS United States' bell to be used in the tower.

Concept Art for CNU's Bell Tower, c. 2011

In the Fall of 2011, The Mary Brock Forbes Hall opened at CNU. Forbes had requested the building be named in memory of her mother. Unfortunately, Sarah Forbes did not live to see it completed. She died in a car accident earlier that year in June.

CNU's Mary Brock Forbes Hall at night

The Bell Tower would come a few years later. Until it was built, the bell was kept in the Paul & Rosemary Trible Library on campus.

SS United States' bell in case in the
Trible Library, 2013

Construction on the tower would start October 2013. In the final stretch of the build, the bell made the move to its new home in April 2014. The whole tower was complete in time for May's Spring Commencement.

CNU's Bell Tower in Hoinkes Plaza

The Bell Tower features clocks on all four sides and a Carillon. The SS United States' bell is only rung for special occasions, such as Commencement, sports wins, or other notable moments. To prevent wear in one spot, the bell's yoke is specially designed to turn the bell every time it is hit.

SS United States Bell in CNU's Bell Tower

It is my hope, if the ship is saved, the university would consider returning the bell to the ship. I believe it is what Sarah Forbes would have wanted. The Mariners' Museum seems to agree, earlier this year donating all of their SSUS collection to the Conservancy.

I couldn't find a video anywhere of the bell ringing. So, I made a quick video from CNU's 2015 Commencement of the bell ringing

Sources Used:
S.S. UNITED STATES FANS BUY PIECES OF HISTORY AT SHIP AUCTION
Investor sought to keep N.C. restaurant site going
Windmill Point set to go out in a blaze of glory
Spotlight on Sarah E. Forbes, MD
Sarah E. Forbes Obituary
Sarah Forbes: A lasting legacy at CNU
Forbes Hall officially opens at Christopher Newport University
Goodbye, Windmill Point
Defining Significance: H. Dieter & Mary Elizabeth Hoinkes
Personal CNU memories

(The Windmill Point Restaurant website is still alive! Check it out HERE.)

Robertson's Windmill Flies!

   This was a day I had been waiting years for. On September 8, a windmill flew back onto its post, signaling the start of the end of a long trail. Colonial Williamsburg's famous Robertson's Windmill is finally being restored. 

   Robertson's Windmill was built in 1957 for the 350th anniversary Jamestown celebration, on the corner of Scotland and North England Street. It was based off the 1636 Bourn Mill in England, a post mill. This type of mill is called this because it sits on a post (called the King's Post), and is able to rotate on top of said post to catch whichever way the wind is blowing. Robertson's Windmill became an icon for Colonial Williamsburg, joining ranks with the Governor's Palace and the Capitol. 

   By the mid-1990's, problems had come about. Errors in its original construction were starting to wear away at the mill. It's interior machinery needed fixing. The trees around the site had also grown too big for the wind to reach the sails. The windmill remained open, but it ceased operation.

   It was in this state when I first saw it. On my first time to Colonial Williamsburg, I don't remember much. The Windmill stood out though. It was so cool, so unlike anything I'd seen before outside of a movie, and if you were strong enough [which 9 year-old me was not], you could push it around!

My Mom and I at the Windmill, May 2001

   On January 1, 2004, the mill closed entirely. Talk went on for many years on what to do with the mill. Archaeology was done, but no one could find any remains for the original windmill on the property. The last paper mention of it was in 1723. The current town's interpretation was in the 1770's, with Peyton Randolph owning the property, and no windmill to speak of.

   It was decided the mill was too valuable to destroy, so they decided to move it to Colonial Williamsburg's example of an 18th century farm, Great Hopes Plantation. On August 27, 2010, the mill was driven up the road on a flatbed truck in two pieces. It was done in the middle of the night to have less of an impact on traffic. The plan was to fix and restore the mill in 12-18 months.

   Here's how the windmill looked in 2012:

Windmill in 2012

Windmill in 2012

   The post had been fixed and was ready to go, but no work had been done on fixing the mill portion. In 2014, Colonial Williamsburg received a donation for the Windmill, and work resumed on restoring it.

Windmill Early July 2015

Windmill Late July 2015

Sign in 2012 and 2015. Spot the differences?

   They have added new components on the bottom to make it easier to replace the mill's legs, something that was left out of the 1957 windmill. They left space in the lumber below the King's post legs to compensate for compression created from the weight of the Windmill (28,000 lbs) and its operation. The mill was beating itself up before.

   75-80% of the old wood was reused in the restoration. Visitors will be able to tell what's old and new when they are allowed to step inside. The mill has been repainted a tar color. White would not have made sense on a farm, for white would get dirty very fast.

   All of this brings us to September 8th, mill raising day!

   In the 18th century, a post mill would have been constructed on the post. To put the mill back together, a crane was brought in to sit it back on top again. A GoPro camera was placed inside to chronicle its voyage.

Attaching the hook to the crane

   Once everything was hooked up and latched on, they did some small lifts to make sure the mill was level. When only one side was coming up, they would set it back down, readjust, and try again. Everything was done in the name of safety and precision.

The back is lifting, but not the front.

Once it was level, the mill went flying!

   Much care was taken to line the mill up perfectly. Once the King's Post was in far enough, one worker took a Cherry Picker and hopped inside to help guide the mill into its final position.

   And it's in place!

   The crane arrived around 10:20am. The windmill did not sit down on its post until 12:30. During that time, the crowd did not leave. I did not feel impatient waiting for one moment. It was really exciting to see something so big fly into the air, as well as seeing a missing part of Colonial Williamsburg return.

   The mill still has a ways to go before it is operational again. An October opening is expected. Before then, there will be continued work on the interior mechanisms and the reintroduction of the sails, stairs, and the wheel to make the Windmill spin. A new miller tradesman will have to be hired to work and maintain the mill. 

   All of those trees around the property are going to be cut down to allow for the wind to reach the mill. It will also create an incredible new Windmill vista from the Visitor's Center, ensuring the Windmill will never be forgotten about.

   Now to something being built nearby: On the far side of the Windmill site, they are building a new Lime Kiln. It should be finished and operational next year some time.

   With the restoration of the Windmill, construction of the Lime Kiln, and eventually the building of the Great Hope's Planter's Home, exciting things are definitely coming to Great Hopes Plantation! Check it out next time you visit!

Sources Used:

"Moving Robertson's Windmill" (site will not link it directly, you have to scroll 10 times to the right to get to its vlog)

The Miller and the Windmill, 2002

Windmill of Colonial Williamsburg Slated for New Home at Great Hopes Plantation

CW Windmill On a Midnight Move 

Iconic windmill gets new home

Construction crew explaining things, 9/8/2015