The earliest recording of a windmill was in ninth century Persia. In 1854, Daniel Halladay was the first to design windmills in New England.
There are three basic types of windmills: vertical axis (stationary), horizontal-axle (turn to face the wind) and fixed horizontal-axle.
Europeans built the first windmills for grinding grain into meal or flour.
The first North American windmills were made of wood with some iron and steel parts holding the wooden components together. All-metal windmills were introduced in 1870.
Between 1770 and 1803, 20 of the tallest windmills in the world were erected in Schiedam, Holland. Five of the original windmills remain and attract tourists from all over the world.
