The power of the wind has been used to pump water for hundreds of years.

The power of the wind has been used to pump water for hundreds of years.. . , The earliest known windmills were developed in Persia more than a thousand years ago. However, the early windmills were not nearly as efficient as they are today. Even as late as the 1400's, large European windmills had to be turned by hand to face the wind. These mills often contained living quarters for a windsmith and his family. Over the years, large windmills became more efficient and powerful. By the 1800's they were being used to drain large land areas in Holland., Smaller, family-sized tower windmills were perfected in 1854. These mills had large tails or weather-vanes which automatically rotated the blades so that they would face the wind. An important improvement in windmills was made in 1870 with the introduction of steel blades (painted silver and red on this mill). Steel blades were lighter weight and much more efficient than wooden blades., Between 1850 and 1970, more than six million small windmills, such as this one, were installed in the United States. Most of them were used for pumping water for livestock and home use on family farms. Windmills are slowly disappearing from the American landscape as more dependable gas and electric pumps have become available and affordable., This "Aeromotor" windmill was made in Denver, Colorado in 1937, purchased by Munster residents C. D. and Cora Schoon, and installed in the early 1940's on their farm near Wheatfield, Indiana, south of the Kankakee river in Jasper County. There it was used to provide water for livestock. After a few years, the farm was converted to growing only grain and the windmill was no longer needed. In 1999, family members donated the windmill to the Munster Department of Parks and Recreation., Munster Parks and Recreation staff then disassembled the mill and brought it north to Munster where it was cleaned, repaired, and repainted. It was installed here in Heritage Park in April of 2001 and dedicated August 4th of that year., [Caption:] , Donated in honor of C. D. and Cora Schoon by their children: Norman, Lois, Ellen and John