Little Chute Windmill, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising $2.8 million dollars to build an authentic functioning Dutch windmill and interpretive center in downtown Little Chute, Wisconsin. The Little Chute Windmill & Van Asten Visitor Center will be an educational tool for all ages. Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the different levels of the Windmill and see it in action as it harnesses wind power to grind grain into flour. The Van Asten Visitor Center will feature exhibits on the history and legacy of Dutch settlement in the Fox River Valley and northeast Wisconsin. To date, $2 million dollars have been raised.
The Little Chute Windmill is an authentic 1850s design from the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. Volunteer millers will operate the windmill and demonstrate for visitors the ancient process of grinding grain into flour. You may be surprised to know that the windmill will be 100 feet tall! It has been designed and is currently being built in the Netherlands by fourth-generation millwright Lucas Verbij of Verbij Windmill Design & Construction. Verbij designs, builds and restores windmills all over the world.
The purpose of the Van Asten Visitor Center is to interpret the history and legacy of Dutch settlement in northeast Wisconsin, and to be a hub of information for the community of Little Chute.
On the first floor you will find...
- a museum on the Dutch history of Little Chute and the region, implemented in partnership with the Little Chute Historical Society.
- the Van Dyn Hoven Media Room, where visitors will watch a short film on the building of the windmill and history of Little Chute.
- a gift shop selling various souvenir items, including bags of flour ground in the windmill.
- an information desk, sitting area and restroom facilities.
On the second floor you will find...
- the Little Chute Historical Society Workspace.
- the Windmill Office.
- archive and storage space.