Mill No. 6 - Haastrecht

"The river Vlist used to function as a grinding pond for polders in the western part of the Lopiker and eastern part of the Krimpenerwaard. In 1486, probably six, or at most eight, mills spread out on this basin. Later, there would be a total of ten. The storage basin discharged into the Hollandsche IJssel via a lock in Haastrecht. In 1486 this river was so silted up that the discharge became more and more difficult. In 1486 they decided to set up a Hooge Boezem and to that end they bought 52 plots of land tomorrow. Later on this bosom was enlarged. These mills ground the water from the Vlist into the 'Hooge Boezem'. The drainage was not done directly on the Hollandsche IJssel, but on a storage basin, which made them independent of the river level. This storage basin later discharged into the IJssel along a natural route, when this was possible.

In 1739, mill No. 6 burned down and was replaced by an octagonal mill. In 1873 this mill also burned down. It was replaced by a stone mill of a very strongly waisted model. In 1871 a 44 hp steam-ship pumping station was built to strengthen the drainage. In 1912 the water board decided to lift the pumping station, after which in 1913-1914 the steam pumping station from 1871 was rebuilt. It now had two centrifugal pumps, each with a steam engine and a total output of 135 hp. The rocking mills were all demolished after the steam pumping station came into operation; their place in the landscape can still be clearly seen. Mill No.6 was decommissioned and continued to serve as a home. In 2005, concrete rebuilding plans were drawn up. In 2010 the restoration of the stone mill hull was started. On National Mill Day 2011, Saturday 14 May, the mill was once again in a state of flux. There is already a queen's spindle in the mill and there is a cast iron water axis from 1870 available, coming from a mill in Utrecht."