Windmills of Dorchester County

If one could travel back in time to early Dorchester County, one would see a variety of mills throughout the county: windmills, water mills, sawmills, and tidal mills. These were used for grinding grain and sometimes generating power, i.e., for a lumber mill. Water mills were common when there was a slope and moving water (stream). However, a windmill was needed in the western and southern areas of the county, where the land was flat. Common in areas of England and France, early settlers brought plans for mills into Dorchester County. There are records of at least 30 windmills in the county, including both post and tower mills. We know there were 18 windmills in Dorchester County in 1877.

The Honga and Woolford mills were the only ones remaining after the Hurricane of 1933, and the last remaining mill, the Honga Windmill, blew down in 1954 in Hurricane Hazel. Windmills were the leading cause of accidental death in Dorchester County in the 19th Century. This says as much about the number of mills as the inherent danger they pose.

The George L is a reconstruction of the Spocott mill, which blew down in March 1888. A windmill has been at this site since the Revolutionary War.

Church Creek Windmill

Crapo Mill, 1952

Taylor’s Island Mill