New Amsterdam's windmills
Windmills of a 17th-century Dutch colony / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In September 1609, Henry Hudson, accompanied by around 20 sailors, navigated the Halve Maen (Half Moon) into present-day New York Harbor. Tasked by the Dutch East India Company to discover a route to Asia, Hudson's journey instead led to the Dutch staking claim over an area they named Nieuw Nederland, encompassing what are now parts of the U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut. Between 1625 and 1626, the newly formed Dutch West India Company founded a settlement at the southern tip of Manhattan to serve as the capital and main trading hub of the colony, dubbing it Nieuw Amsterdam, which would eventually evolve into New York City.[1]
In 1626, the first windmill in the settlement was constructed by Franchoys Fezardon on the northwestern tip of Governors Island. This windmill was funded by the company and described as a Sawmill used to cut the stand of hardwood trees found on Noten Eylandt. In 1639, it was leased by Van Twiller along with other small buildings. However, as time went on, the windmill lost its functionality and was burned at the Director's request in 1648.[2] The iron work of the windmill was salvaged before its destruction. It was the first windmill in New Netherland.[3][4]