My World Tuesday

Shattuck Windmill Museum & Park was established in 1994 and dedicated in May 1996, with a gathering of old windmillers and community volunteers. It is situated in north-west Oklahoma and is very much a local landmark.

As of November 2008, 52 windmills stand in the park, with no two alike and ranging from a little 5ft. Star Zephyr to the big 18 ft. Samson and Railroad Eclipse. Some of the mills are open-geared, some have solid or folding wood wheels, many are unusual steel mills.

But all have lifted water from beneath the earth to provide for a homesteader's garden or a rancher's cattle. Each one has it's own story and a book can be found in the little authentic Mercantile Store, containing the history of each one.

The focus of the park is not only the windmills, but also shows how homesteaders lived when they first came to this area, and why the windmill was so important.

Included in the Park is a small half-dugout soddy (sod-house) which was moved from 7 miles south-west of town. It was reconstructed to give a glimpse of how many of the early settlers lived. All year round visitors are encouraged to record the temperature in the soddy in a logbook. It is fascinating to see how the temperature holds relatively steady inside, whatever the weather outside!

In 1997 the one-and-a-half storey homestead house was moved into the Park. The restored home typifies the frame structure that an early family would have built, once they had moved up from their "soddy". A local family raised their four children in this particular homestead. The home consisted of a lean-to, living-dining room and the parent's bedroom. Up the very narrow staircase was a large open attic, where the children would sleep.

The gates of Windmill Park are made of Oklahoma red granite, are seven feet tall and depict two of the earliest windmills. They anchor a brick wall showing the names of many of the local homesteaders, ranchers and merchants, and the date of their arrival. It is facinating to read these names and recognise the grandparents and parents of local people I know now.

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