Little Chute Windmill

Infobox nrhp
name = Little Chute Windmill and Van Asten Visitor Center
nrhp_type = hd

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caption = Contributing Feature to Little Chute Locks and Canal Historic District
location = Little Chute, Outagamie County, Wisconsin, USA
built = construction planned to start in 2009
architect = Lukas Verbij of Verbij Hoogmade BV
architecture = Nineteenth Century Dutch
visitation_num = Planned at 20,000
visitation_year = 2010
mpsub =
governing_body = Public museum

The Little Chute Windmill and Van Asten Visitor Center is a planned functioning Dutch windmill and interpretive center in Little Chute, Wisconsin, United States. The authentic wooden windmill and adjoining visitor center will be built on Island Park on the banks of the Fox River. Tours will lead to different levels of the Windmill, allowing visitors to see actual operation of the mill as it harnesses wind power to grind grain into flour. The Van Asten Visitor Center will feature exhibits on the history and legacy of Dutch settlement in the Fox River Valley and northeast Wisconsin. [http://www.littlechutewindmill.org/ Little Chute Windmill Committee] ] It is anticipated that the windmill will be a stop on the renovated lock-and-canal system along the Fox and there will be ties to Little Chute’s two annual festivals: The Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival and the Dutch festival of Kermis.

Location

The planned location is Island Park in Little Chute on the banks of the Fox River ½ kilometer (⅓ mile) south of downtown Little Chute. The new location on Island Park marks a departure from original plans which had the Windmill located on Main Street in Little Chute.

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Planned Features

Windmill

The Windmill will have an authentic 1850s design, based on similar mills from the province of Noord Brabant in the Netherlands, coincidently the home province of many of the first Dutch settlers to the area. Design for the 38-meter (125 ft) high wooden windmill is being completed by fourth-generation millwright Lukas Verbij of Verbij Hoogmade BV in the Netherlands. Verbij Hoogmade BV designs, builds and restores windmills all over the world, including similar windmills in San Francisco [http://www.parks.sfgov.org/wcm_recpark/Notice/MurphyWindmill.pdf San Francisco Recreation and Park Department ] ] and Sakura, Chiba, Japan. The windmill will be partially constructed in the Netherlands and shipped for final assembly in Little Chute.

Visitor Center

The Van Asten Visitor Center will have a museum display on the history of Dutch settlement in Little Chute and the surrounding area, which will be implemented and maintained by the Little Chute Historical Society. It will be designed to look like the old Zeeland Mill that stood nearby until it burned in the 1930s. The Society will also have meeting and work space in the Visitor Center, as well as archive storage. The Gift Shop will sell many items of interest, including souvenir bags of flour ground in the Windmill. The Van Dyn Hoven Media Room within the Visitor Center will be used to screen films and house smaller exhibits and gatherings. There will also be a meeting space available for public use.

Little Chute's Riverfront and Fox River Locks

Surrounding the Windmill and Van Asten Visitor Center is Island Park, a convert|5.8|acre|m2|sing=on island on the Fox River. Plans call for the grounds to be extensively planted with trees, shrubs and flower beds, including Dutch tulips. There will also be an educational vegetable garden where children can participate in planting, growing and harvesting food. Current plans also call for a “Brick-Naming Wall” with decorative tile installations will display hundreds of personalized bricks, purchased by citizens, organizations and businesses throughout the fundraising program.

A new trail system will connect the windmill to three of Little Chute's riverfront parks - Island Park, Doyle Park and Heesakker Park Picnic areas – as well as to nearby athletic fields, the Doyle Park swimming pool and water slide, and the Jim Harp handicap-accessible fishing pier.

The site is in the Little Chute Locks and Canal Historic District. Work has begun to renovate the Little Chute lock-and-canal system between Doyle and Island Parks along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. [http://www.friendsofthefox.org/friendsofthefox/locks+information/default.asp Friends Of The Fox, Inc] ] The proximity of the Windmill to the lock and canal provides a physical and a historical connection between the roles of the early Dutch immigrants and the lock-and-canal system in the region. In addition, a landing with boat slips will provide boaters navigating the canal system on the Fox River the opportunity to stop at the windmill and at Little Chute.

Current Status

Changes to the original design to accommodate the Island-Park site are being completed. Construction of the Little Chute Windmill is scheduled to commence in the spring of 2009.

Little Chute Windmill, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is dedicated to raising $2.5 million dollars to build the functioning Dutch windmill and interpretive center, although dollar/euro rates may increase some costs. To date, a total of $2.4 million dollars have been raised, boosted recently by a $300,000 gift. [http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080602/APC0101/806020451 Appleton Post Crescent] ] Greta Van Susteren, who grew up in near by Appleton, serves as the Honorary Chairperson. [http://www.godutch.com/windmill/newsItem.asp?id=1152 GoDutch ] ]

The village will also receive federal funding to partially cover the cost to replace the Mill Street Lift Bridge, at Island Park, which has been inoperable for more than 20 years. The announcement came during a visit from U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Little Chute). The project is on schedule for 2009. [http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/APC0101/712170500/1003/APC01 Appleton Post Crescent] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.littlechutewindmill.org// Official website]
* [http://www.littlechutewindmill.org/lcwindmill/little+chute+historical+society/default.asp// Little Chute Historical Society]