WINDMILLS | Models and Monuments, East Hampton

Model of the Hook Mill - All photos
by JT Marlin, August 2014.

The original Hook Mill, the
symbol of East Hampton,
which operates three mills.
The most in the USA.

Last month I visited both the real Hook Mill in East Hampton (see photo at right) and a model of the Hook Mill (photo at left), which is in a private home in East Hampton.

Exterior

The exterior of the Hook Mill model is quite faithful to the original.

The coloring in the model is more vivid, but that could simply reflect the weathering of the Hook Mill over time.

The wings seem to be faithful to the original, with two-thirds of the wing frame on the trailing edge.

The mill model is open on the window side,
so that miniature furniture can be added. This
mill is a toy, meant to be played with.

The rotating cap on top is also faithful to the Hook Mill cap, complete with the window on the non-wing side, which could provide an escape in the event of a fire below. The possibility of a fire is real, since there would be a kitchen in the living space below if inhabited, and the structure is made of wood.

Note the placement of the five visible windows on the model is exactly the same as on the original.  (The cap rotates on a smock mill, so the position of the cap and wings is arbitrary.)

Making Your Own Model Windmill

The cap rotates so the wings or blades
can be moved to the other side.

Three step-by-step guides to making a model windmill or dollhouse are available free:

1. One takes about an hour to make, plus the time to buy a dynamo for it.
2. Another might take a couple of days.
3. You can even make a windmill out of a milk carton, using a straw for the axel of the wings, and sand in the bottom of the carton for stability. You will also need a cork and some thread.

The Hook Mill in East Hampton sells cutout-cardboard model windmills. They are much smaller than the model shown here. I am thinking that the Hook Mill model could be enlarged on a copier and a larger model could be made from it.

Miniature Music
Stand.

Interior - A Doll's House

Music Stand Comes Out of Storage.

The interior of the windmill is accessed from the back of the mill.

The mill from the inside is a standard doll house. This is of course unrealistic, because any windmill that performs a job has many cogs and wheels inside. But we don't want to make a doll's house too complex, do we?

Harp Table with Fish Tank. 

Stove with Potholder.

Where families lived in a real mill, there would be a central area with the workings of the mill and the living space would be around it.

The Hook Mill model has a variety of furniture and other items in storage - a miniature music stand, a fish tank with a wooden harp stand, a cast-iron stove with potholder, a bed and sofa.

Sofa, Bed Frame.

If you have a child who looks like a possible budding architect, then a windmill would be an instructive thing to buy or make.

The owner of the model mill won it in raffle. Probably LVIS, which has a terrific silent auction and raffles.

The mill was played with intensely but then the young lady who loved it so much got older...

So that's why it was in a box. Waiting for the next child to come along and enjoy it. Toy Story. Little Old Bear.