Out here in the Midwest, Aermotor windmills can still be seen on many farms. Several farm windmills are not in running order anymore; some are kept for display, but a few can still pump water or generate electricity by utilizing wind. This Aermotor is part of the Vinton, Iowa train depot museum display, so it's likely to have been brought to town from a country location.
To authenticate this as an official, old time windmill just observe the fin. In this case you will notice two bullet holes - which oddly confirm the structure as an old windmill. Some people love to zero-in on the fins for target practice. Maybe it was a fad or something done out of sheer boredom. In any case the quarter-size portals provide a rustic look to the fin but corrupt the intended aerodynamic qualities.
Visit any 42N area farm (just west of Fairfax, Iowa in this case) and you might see buildings or equipment in various stages of condition. Some may be well preserved while others are out of commission and even disappearing.
First off, the brick silo out building is somewhat rare in that many have already disappeared and are no longer being built. The white barn seen in the background sports a white metal roof. Many local farmers began replacing their barn's traditional shingles and wood exterior with easy to install and maintain metal in the 1990s. In many instances metal materials were placed over the existing wooden counterpart.
Lastly, notice the support for an old fashion windmill. Many windmills are missing parts and very few of them still turn, let alone actually pump water or provide electricity. There are exceptions to these disappearing structures but the trend is certainly to remove rather than replace.
When passing by these structures take a second or two to study the layout of the farm and consider how they functioned while new. Know that.
Two days ago the three day old snow cover made for interesting photography near 42N's Keystone, Iowa. On December 28th within 30 minutes of local sunset the sky conditions changed so much between sun angle and cloud cover as evident in these 42N team photos of farmland. This particular area of the country is largely used for grain production and livestock feedlots. Many farmhouses and barns can be dated to the beginning of the last century. Silos at these farms often date to the mid-1900s. Windmills like those seen in the last photo are quickly fading from the landscape after years of neglect following rural electrification in the late 1940s which made water pumping easier than wind powered pumping. Know that.
