"[1] Seppmann, with help from some fellow masons, built the first 10 feet (3.0 m) of the walls before being interrupted by financial difficulties and the outbreak of the Dakota War of 1862.

Seppmann carved most of the wooden machinery himself with an axe, except for two metal cog wheels and the millstones, which had to be purchased from St. Louis for $600.

As the American Civil War was still raging, grain was quite expensive and the bank charged him 25% interest in advance for his loan.

Meanwhile, a crowd of onlookers had gathered outside, eager to see Seppmann's curiosity finally in operation and surprised that it seemed to be running so fast it might tear itself apart.

Ultimately they learned that the clog was due to poor dressing of the millstones and after making improvements, including a better brake, were operational by late September.

The Seppmanns initially lived in a small stone house next to the windmill, which was converted to a warehouse in the 1870s after they moved to a new home.

The Blue Earth County Historical Society conducted repairs before the 1.24-acre (0.50 ha) parcel was transferred to the state in 1931.

[3] The mill site was originally separated from the state park by over a mile and public access was difficult.

[4] In the late 1960s Seppmann heirs and other landowners sold the intervening land to the state so the park could be expanded into one contiguous property.

[3] The mill's exterior was repaired, interior structures refurbished, doors and windows replaced, and the roof reshingled.