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catching fire. Meanwhile, a crowd of onlookers had gathered outside, eager to see
Seppmann's curiosity finally in operation and surprised that it seemed to be running so fast it might tear itself apart. In desperation Seppmann tossed something into the gears, but it shattered and a piece was flung away with such force that it shot a hole through the rim of Seppmann's hat. At last Seppmann and Hegley were able to unfurl some of the sails and halt the mill. Ultimately they learned that the clog was due to poor dressing of the millstones and after making improvements, including a better brake, were operational by late September.
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282:. Farmers came from as far 30 miles (48 km) away to have their grain milled. In 1866 Seppmann married and bought out his partner Hegley, giving shares instead to his new in-laws. The Seppmanns initially lived in a small stone house next to the windmill, which was converted to a warehouse in the 1870s after they moved to a new home.
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pivoted on a track to catch the prevailing winds. There was a small platform on the outside of the dome where the miller liked to sit and smoke his pipe. The wooden arms, covered with sailcloth, spanned 72 feet (22 m). The mill had five floors, though some were very short and only held machinery.
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was still raging, grain was quite expensive and the bank charged him 25% interest in advance for his loan. Seppmann also needed to hire an expert to start up the mill and show him how to operate it. However, there was no wind for four or five weeks and the expert eventually gave up and went home.
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Over the next 40 years the mill deteriorated and the warehouse was torn down entirely. In 1929 Louis
Seppmann's son Alfred donated the windmill to be added to Minneopa State Park. The Blue Earth County Historical Society conducted repairs before the 1.24-acre (0.50 ha) parcel was transferred
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knocked off two arms again. By then technological advances and competition from other mills made it unprofitable to repair. Seppmann continued to operate the mill with the two surviving arms, making animal feed. Finally a storm in 1890 damaged the remaining arms and
Seppmann ceased operations.
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However without the expert's help, Seppmann and Hegley immediately clogged the millstone. Thinking more speed would help, they put on full sail. Instead the rising wind set the arms spinning so fast the operators couldn't stop it. The wooden parts grew so hot that the windmill was in danger of
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The stone walls are 32 feet (9.8 m) high and conical. At the base the diameter is 30 feet (9.1 m) and the walls are two feet (0.61 m) thick, but taper to 20 feet (6.1 m) across and six inches (15 cm) thick at the top. The mill is capped with a wooden dome that could be
224:. He resumed work the next summer, joined now by neighbor Herman Hegley. Using a ramp and a wheelbarrow to convey material up the growing structure, they finished construction in 1864. Seppmann carved most of the wooden machinery himself with an axe, except for two metal cog wheels and the
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spent $ 65,000 carrying out repairs to the mill and reconstructing the warehouse. The mill's exterior was repaired, interior structures refurbished, doors and windows replaced, and the roof reshingled.
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The internal mechanisms have been dismantled, and neither the mill nor the warehouse interiors are open to the public. Park managers hope someday to restore the machinery and the arms.
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in the mid-1950s. In the late 1960s
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The mill site was originally separated from the state park by over a mile and public access was difficult. The
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Seppmann, with help from some fellow masons, built the first 10 feet (3.0 m) of the walls before being interrupted by financial difficulties and the outbreak of the
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on his own land. Seppmann was only somewhat familiar with windmills from his homeland, but drew on his "considerable natural talent for mechanics and invention."
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until his partner Hegley convinced him that if God had provided the first wind in over a month on a Sunday it must be okay.
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struck the mill in June 1873 and blasted off two of the arms. Seppmann replaced them, but seven years later a
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Seppmann was not a farmer, so to test the finished mill he had to borrow money and buy grain. As the
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The first light wind didn't blow until a Sunday, but
Seppmann was opposed to working on the
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213:. In 1862 he used his earnings to begin constructing a wind-powered
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in 1835 and emigrated to the United States at age 17. He settled in
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Everyone's Country Estate: A History of Minnesota's State Parks
361:. : Minnesota Department of Conservation, Division of Forestry.
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William Seppman, standing in front of Seppman Mill ca. 1890
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Buildings and structures in Blue Earth County, Minnesota
398:. St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press.
189:. The sails and internal machinery have been removed.
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421:Minneinneopa: 150 Year History Minneopa State Park
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423:. Janesville, Minn: Akorn Creations LLC.
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181:. It was built by Louis Seppmann, a
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357:Hughes, Thomas (1932).
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680:Michigan
670:Maryland
655:Kentucky
635:Illinois
610:Delaware
600:Colorado
590:Arkansas
171:windmill
146:71000435
58:Location
1402:Spokane
1343:Newport
1201:Seppman
1183:Holland
1165:Eastham
1160:Chatham
1119:Peotone
1057:Solvang
1021:Arizona
917:Related
820:Wyoming
795:Vermont
700:Montana
640:Indiana
620:Georgia
615:Florida
585:Arizona
575:Alabama
290:tornado
276:bushels
260:Sabbath
203:Germany
1331:Boyd's
1290:Napoli
1108:Golden
1103:Geneva
1098:Fulton
1052:Murphy
755:Oregon
710:Nevada
650:Kansas
625:Hawaii
580:Alaska
516:Topics
427:
402:
183:German
1371:Texas
1137:Anson
1129:Maine
1047:Dutch
887:Palau
785:Texas
665:Maine
630:Idaho
449:(PDF)
280:flour
113:Built
841:Guam
790:Utah
745:Ohio
645:Iowa
425:ISBN
400:ISBN
161:The
116:1864
173:in
141:No.
130:MPS
1442::
386:^
367:^
337:^
201:,
1005:e
998:t
991:v
571::
501:e
494:t
487:v
433:.
408:.
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