De Zwaan Windmill

In 1961 Castle Park resort owner Carter P. Brown proposed the idea of creating a public park with “an authentic Dutch windmill,” a symbol of Holland’s Dutch heritage. To do so, city officials needed permission from the Dutch government, which protects windmills as national monuments. Willard C. Wichers, midwest director for the Netherlands Information Service, led negotiations with the Dutch over a three-year period. In June 1964 he traveled to the Netherlands to find a suitable mill and finalize arrangements to buy and move it. In Vinkel, Noord Brabant, stood a mill that had been built in 1884 using pieces from older mills. Named De Zwaan (the Swan), it had been damaged during World War II and had deteriorated. Dutch officials allowed its sale but required that Dutch millwright Jan D. Medendorp supervise its relocation and restoration.

[Back]: The dismantling of De Zwaan mill in the Netherlands began in June 1964. Its approximately seven thousand pieces, weighing sixty-six tons, were brought to the United States by the Dutch steamship Prins Willem van Oranje. It arrived at Muskegon, Michigan, on October 5, 1964. The pieces were moved by truck to this site, where the city had levelled the ground, removed brush and created canals. Over the next six months, Medendorp supervised the mill’s reconstruction, including its placement onto a new brick base. He restored its gears to working order, allowing it to mill local grain into flour. Jaap R. de Blecourt, former head gardener at Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel, planned the island’s gardens. De Zwaan was dedicated on April 10, 1965, with Governor George Romney of Michigan and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in attendance.