Little Chute Windmill, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising $2.5 million dollars to build an authentic functioning Dutch windmill and interpretive center in Little Chute, Wisconsin. The facility will be built on beautiful Island Park on the Fox River, 1500 feet south of downtown Little Chute. Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the different levels of the Windmill and see it in action as it harnesses wind power to grind grain into flour. The Van Asten Visitor Center will feature exhibits on the history and legacy of Dutch settlement in the Fox River Valley and northeast Wisconsin. To date, $2.4 million dollars have been raised.
The Windmill is an authentic 1850s design from the province of North Brabant in The Netherlands. Volunteer millers will operate the Windmill and demonstrate for visitors the ancient process of grinding grain into flour. You may be surprised to know that the Windmill will be 125 feet tall! It has been designed by fourth-generation millwright Lukas Verbij of Verbij Hoogmade Windmill Design & Consrtuction in the Netherlands. Verbij designs, builds and restores windmill all over the world from San Francisco to Japan.
The Van Asten Visitor Center will house a museum display on the history of Dutch settlement in Little Chute and the surrounding area, which will be implemented with help from the Little Chute Historical Society. The Society will also have meeting and work space in the Visitor Center, as well as archive storage. The Gift Shop will sell many items of interest including souvenir bags of flour ground in the Windmill. The Van Dyn Hoven Media Room will be used to screen films and house smaller exhibits and gatherings.
Surrounding the Windmill and Van Asten Visitor Center is Island Park, a 5.8 acre island on the Fox River. The grounds will be extensively planted with trees, shrubs and flower beds, with no shortage of tulips and other bulbs. A Brick Naming Wall will display hundreds of personalized bricks, purchased by citizens, organizations and businesses through our brick fundraising program.
Little Chute's Riverfront- In addition to the Windmill facilities, a new trail system will connect three of Little Chute's gorgeous riverfront parks: Island Park, Doyle Park and Heesakker Park. Picnic areas, athletic fields, the Doyle Park swimming pool and water slide, the Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival and Harp handicap accessible fishing pier are just a few features on an extensive menu of activities that will be available in the parks.
Fox River Locks- Work has begun to renovate the Little Chute lock and canal system between Doyle Park and Island Park. Dutch settlers in Little Chute and the region played a major role in making the Fox River navigable and economically useful, beginning in the mid-19th century. The proximity of the Windmill and visitor center to the lock and canal provides an excellent way to talk about this interesting history, right where it happened! In addition, new boat slips will provide boaters navigating the canal system on the Fox River the opportunity to stop and enjoy all Little Chute has to offer.
All of these exciting developments are underway and will soon make Little Chute's riverfront a premier attraction in the region!
To read the Windmill Project Fact Sheet, click here.
To read "Top 10 Benefits of Building the Little Chute Windmill on Island Park", click here.
