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Windmills of California

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Golden Gate Park

There are 2 traditional "Dutch style" windmills in Golden Gate Park, located at the western end to catch the ample sea breezes.

The Dutch Windmill

The Dutch Windmill was built in 1902, at a cost of $16,000, together with a Dutch Cottage alongside which was occupied by the mill's caretaker. 75 feet high, and 33 feet in diameter at the base, is sails had a span of 102 feet and meant it was capable of pumping 30,000 gallons of fresh water per hour from underground to a reservoir on Strawberry Hill.

Despite being a great success for a few years (so much so that a second windmill was built), by 1913 electric pumps were introduced, so the windmills began to become obsolete. Much of the Dutch Mill's machinery was destroyed by a storm in the 1930's, followed by further gutting to aid the 2nd World War effort. In the winter of 1949 one of the sails was blown off, and a few months later the other 3 sails were removed for safety.

A Citizens Commission formed in 1964 to start efforts to restore the mills, but despite receiving a Federal grant of $10,000 in 1968, it was not until August 1976 that volunteers from the US Navy Reserve started work on restoring the Dutch Mill. Work continued through to completion in 1981. Since then little additional work has been done, and although, as the many photos of the mill show, from the exterior the mill looks impressive, structurally it's showing signs of decay again.

At the base of the mill, the grounds have been laid out as the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden - a fact that contributes to the popularity of the mill as a photo location. It's also given rise to the often repeated, but false story that the mill "was a gift to the city of San Francisco from Holland"!

Point to note: Looking at historical pictures of the mill, it's apparent that the "restored" mill's sails rotate in the opposite direction to the original sails!

Circa 1940's hand coloured print

Dutch Mill in 1999.

The Murphy Windmill

With the undoubted success of the Dutch Mill, in 1905 a second windmill was built to the south, known as the Murphy Windmill, after Samuel G Murphy who donated $20,000 (one source says $25,000) for its construction. This mill was even larger than the first, 95 feet high, with sails 114 feet across, capable of pumping 40,000 gallons per hour, and survived slightly longer before electric pumps were installed.

Sadly this mill has never been restored, and currently stands sailless and neglected, slowly deteriorating. The Murphy Windmill has a concrete base, surmounted by a slate clad wooden upper body, and each year more slates fall from the mill. The remains of the sails are stacked in the undergrowth nearby.

Not surprisingly, despite the many web sites with photos of the Dutch Mill, no-one seems to want to put up pictures of the forlorn Murphy windmill.

As it was in 1999.