Starting in the 15th century, windmills were used to keep Holland safe from succumbing to damaging floods. By the 19th century, the Netherlands had over 9,000 of them. The Hollandse Molen was built in 1804 in Friesland, a northern district where my ancestors lived. It was repurposed after 1878 to mill grain and then abandoned after being damaged in a 1929 storm. In 1961 it was reassembled in Palm Beach, Aruba. It now serves as a restaurant and museum.
