Chatham's Godfrey Windmill

Chatham's Godfrey Windmill is one of the few remaining historic grist mills on Cape Cod. The mill is open for tours during the summer months and twice each year this mill is put in operation and grinds corn the way it did when it was built 220 years ago. The windmill underwent an extensive restoration in 2009-12. Now it is fully functional and can grind grain into flour, just as it did in the 18th and 19th centuries. The mill was rededicated May 19, 2012 as part of Chatham's Tercentennial Celebration. Windmills were once an integral part of life in Chatham. There were about eleven wind-powered grist mills located in the town from the early 1700s through the 1800s, with six to nine in operation during any one time period. (There were also dozens of smaller windmills that pumped sea water to the saltworks located along the town's shores.) The Chatham Windmill, also known as the Col. Benjamin Godfrey Mill, was one of the last of the town's grist mills to be built. Today only two of these historic mills exist in Chatham and only the Godfrey Mill is open to the public.