It is a smock type windmill built in 1746 by Nathan Wilbur, a local sailor who had spent time in Holland.

Wilbur used oaken beams that had washed ashore from wrecked ships for much of the mill's framework, which is held together by wooden pins and scrap metal.

The mill was sold once again in 1866 to John Francis Sylvia, who operated it for many years with his assistant Peter Hoy until it fell into disuse in 1892.

A crude brake consisting of heavy oak beam attached by a rope and pulley to a box of stone weighing several hundred pounds was built to counteract the force of the wind.

[3] Inside, seasonal visitors can watch the gears as corn is ground into meal, producing about 5 bushels an hour.