Westhampton Village Seeks To Restore 1870s Windmill On Great Lawn

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — A windmill steeped in history in Westhampton Beach is set for its next chapter.

According to Westhampton Village Beach Mayor Maria Moore, plans have been discussed to move the windmill, now located at 89 Seafield Lane, to the Great Lawn, where it will be restored. The former address for the premises was 15 Sunswyck Lane, she said.

Moore said the property was purchased in June, 2021 by Adam and DiDi Hutt. The Hutts offered the "smock"-style windmill — built around 1870 — to the village after deciding that they were unable to incorporate the structure into their new construction.

Smock windmills were so named, said Ed Wesnofske, chairman of Southampton Town's Landmarks and Historic District Board in a historic designation application to preserve the structure, because of the roof style resemblance to the smocks farmers and millers traditionally wore.

The windmill was originally constructed on property owned by New York Gov. John A. Dix, where he built the first house and accessory buildings in 1870, the application said.

Dix, born in 1798, served as governor of New York from 1872 to 1874.

"Upon his death, his son the Rev. Dr. Morgan Dix inherited the property in 1879. Reverend Dix sold the property to Desmond Dunne, Brooklyn Commissioner of Public Works and large landholder in early 1902," the application said.

The windmill was designed to pump water for agriculture, livestock and household purposes,
rather than for milling corn or wheat or sawing timber, the application indicated. The windmill survived the Hurricane of '38. Currently, there are 11 restored early windmills on Long Island, but none that pumped water, the historic designation application stated.

"Westhampton Beach has previously been referred to as the 'Windmill Town', as referenced in Historical Sketches of Westhampton Beach . . due to the number of the windmills located the village, primarily used for pumping water to residence, prior to the installation of the public water infrastructure," the application said.

The village, Moore said, hopes to preserve the iconic piece of history, known as the Gov. John Adams Dix Windmill, by moving it to the village-owned property located at 35 Great Lawn; the village will also restore and maintain the structure.

However, she said, funding is a critical component of the plan. Southampton Town's Community Preservation Funds can be used, as long as the windmill was landmarked, Moore said.

According to Moore, the village doesn't yet have an estimate of project costs from the engineers, who are evaluating the structure and preparing the bid specs now. "Our preservation consultant estimated the cost to move and restore the windmill to be approximately $250,000, but that did not factor in prevailing wage, which is required is required on all municipal projects."

Because Westhampton Beach Village does not have the capacity to landmark structures, village officials hope to enter into an inter-municipal agreement with Southampton Town to green light the town to embark upon the landmarking process.

Moore said an application to the Southampton Town Landmarks and Historic District Board was prepared by Westhampton Beach Village Planner Kyle Collins in consultation with Jack L. Jones acting as the village’s preservation consultant.

The application to landmark the subject windmill was discussed at the LHDB’s meeting on January 18, at which a resolution was adopted, finding that the subject windmill would be eligible for town landmarking, subject to the village and town entering into a IMA authorizing the town to landmark the windmill within the incorporated village — along with the authority to enforce the obligations that come with landmarking a structure, Moore said.

The LHDB then submitted a request to the town board on January 24; a resolution was slated for Tuesday, scheduling a public hearing for the March 8 meeting on IMA.

The Southampton Town attorney prepared a draft IMA that is being reviewed by the village attorney, Moore said.

In addition, New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele has said he would recommend the project for a State Aid to Municipalities grant, so the village plans to submit a formal request to him, as well as to the town’s Community Preservation Fund, Moore said.

"This is a good example of local governments working together to accomplish a shared goal, in this case, preserving a piece of our East End history for future generations," Moore said.