by Tom Elliott

I first saw and drew this post windmill during our 2006 EAIA Annual Meeting at Colonial Williamsburg. Since we will have the EAIA annual meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia I thought it an appropriate subject for our 2024, medallion.

This windmill is not an original structure like many of the buildings on display. This windmill was designed and built in 1955-57 to interpret William Robertson’s windmill listed in a deed from 1720. The purpose of this mill would have been to grind grain for the local consumption rather than for export. The style is called a post windmill as the mill house is mounted on a single post and the entire structure is rotated into the direction of the wind.

The structure went through extensive renovation in 2010, and was placed at one of the Colonial Williamsburg plantations. In January of 2023, the windmill was returned to the Historic Area.

The reason that I chose this subject for our 2024 EAIA medallion was the uniqueness of the structure. It is more appropriate to think of the windmill as a machine with moving parts rather than as a building. The second reason is that I had never had the opportunity to use a windmill for one of our medallions.

The medallions are cast from bronze and each participant who attends the annual meeting gets one for their collection! The medallion is the size of a "silver" dollar coin.

Tom Elliott has been an EAIA member since 1991, is a retired architect and has designed more 15 medallions for EAIA annual meetings.

More detailed information and photos of the restoration of the Robertson Windmill can be found on line @ Colonial Williamsburg Wind Mills.