The first known windmill construction in Jamestown was in 1730 at Windmill Hill on North Road and operated by Nicholas Carr. The windmill lasted less than 30 years. However, the next windmill, built in 1787 at the same location, stayed in operation through 1896 and survives today. The historic structure is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 

The windmill filled a critical role in the early agricultural community of 500 people, producing milled grain for both home consumption and the growing commercial market in Newport. Both free and enslaved labor grew the grain. The enslaved Black and Indigenous community comprised one-third of Jamestown’s population when the first mill was erected. A revolution came and went, but when the town built the new windmill, many of those who harvested the grain – 24 out of 63 people of color in Jamestown – still remained enslaved.

Jamestown Windmill is a three-story octagonal structure with a domed cap or bonnet. The sails are attached to the bonnet which can rotate to capture the wind from any direction.

The original builders of the mill hand-hewed chestnut timbers for framing. Cedar shingles sheath the exterior. The JHS maintains the mill in working condition and completed major renovations to repair damage from weather and insects in 2000-2001. The wind shaft was replaced in 2022. The Jamestown Windmill, available by download or in pamphlet form, describes the operation and history of the mill.

Visitors can climb to the bonnet to see the gears that translate the force of the wind into the work of turning the millstones. Signage and displays funded by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities explain the history and the technology of the mill. Volunteer docents can answer your questions.

Teachers are invited to bring their students to the mill for tours. Contact the JHS at info@jhsri.org. Lesson plans for middle school students are available.