Life Between the Ferries Podcast, Episode 2: Shelter Island Windmill

Listen to Life Between the Ferries, our podcast about Shelter Island, its people, places and history. In “Episode 2: Shelter Island Windmill”, we go with Sylvester Manor Educational Farm co-founder Bennett Konesni into the property’s historic Dominy Windmill.

Konesni, an 11th generation Sylvester descendant, gives us an insider’s view of this marvel of early 19th century craftsmanship and technology. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the mill will undergo extensive restoration. Right now, it sits on jacks while its foundation is reinforced. Listen as Konesni describes the mill, the project and the future of milling on Shelter Island.

And, find out how you can help bring this amazing machine back to life. Listen below.

Episode 2 excerpt

Eddie Brennan: What is the name you refer to this mill by?

Bennett Konesni: It’s been referred to over the years mostly as the Shelter Island Mill. I think of it as the Shelter Island community mill because it was the mill that was used to grind flour for all of Shelter Island’s farms.

EB: And it was built by Nathaiel Dominy V.

BK: Right, Nathaniel Dominy V was part of the Dominy family of woodworkers from East Hampton. He’s known as one of the finest woodworkers during America’s golden age of woodworking.  They were actually famous for making clocks and other really high precision wooden machinery. The mill was sort of their bid to go big; to large scale production. It had a lot of the same principles as a clock — gears and these big wheels — so I think it was natural that they would move into building mills. They built several mills that still exist on the East End, including the Hook Mill at the east side of East Hampton.

EB: Wow. I can see what you mean. Standing inside of this mill, it does have the feeling of being inside a clock. A giant clock with wooden gears …

Hear all about what they find as they climb the three-story the mill. And be sure to visit our photo tour. It includes more information alongside images from the Library of Congress that were taken to document the historic structure.

You may enjoy following along while viewing the photo tour of the mill.

Additional information

Mentioned is the podcast is Jim Kricker. He’s advising Sylvester Manor on the ongoing historic preservation of the windmill, according to Tracy McCarthy, Sylvester Manor’s director of operations. Kricker will be working on the windmill’s windshaft, blades and sails as well as the interior working mechanisms.

“We expect this portion of the preservation work to begin sometime in 2019,” McCarthy said in an interview.

Kricker leads Rondout Woodworking, a company located in Saugerties, New York. It specializes in building and restoring mills, wooden boats, and agricultural barns. Kricker has over 40 years of experience and has worked on many of the historic windmills on the South Fork, McCarthy said.

Support the project

Sylvester Manor Educational Farm is in the process of restoring the historic windmill to put it back into operation. The goal: grind grain raised at the Manor and sell the flour and baked goods at the farm stand.

The Manor has hosted fundraisers specifically for the purpose of restoring the mill, and is accepting donations to support this major undertaking. Follow this link to make a donation. Be sure to select Windmill Restoration Project from the drop down list of campaigns.

To learn more about Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, visit its website, sylvestermanor.org.