Mill the Cornflower - Haaksbergen

When the founding of the Batavian Republic in 1795 abolished many of the so-called seigniorial rights, even non-royals were allowed to use the wind to, for instance, drive a mill to grind grain. People in Haaksbergen also capitalised on this and sold a scoop of land to George Boekman. On this, Bernardus ten Pol, Boekman's father-in-law, had a windmill built. The mill was built as an octagonal scaffold mill with sloping towers.

In 1888, the scaffolding was in such poor condition that it had to be demolished and was replaced by sand, which was placed around the mill. So from that year until 1991, the mill has been a bell mill. That it was not always a fat lot for the miller is clear from the following example: On 5 December 1879, the mill was bought by Johannes Filippus Beens. His earnings were so moderate that he engraved on a beam of the mill: I come from the land of Vollenhove, but it is Schralendam here.

In 1923, the mill was restored after which it was given its current name. From 1934, only the steam mill was used for milling; the windmill fell into serious disrepair and was close to disappearing. In 1942, Frans Otte became the owner and wrote to the municipality that he wanted to demolish the mill. Fortunately for us, this did not happen. To preserve it as a monument, it was bought by the municipality of Haaksbergen in 1964 to be restored again. After this refurbishment, the mill was not handed over millable and, until the last renovation in 1991, only turned, as it is called, for the prince. This involves cranking only the sails on the wind, which then turn around without driving the going work inside the mill.

In 1985, efforts were made to restore the mill. The observation that the mill biotope was not ideal led to the idea of moving the mill. The response from the citizenry and the neighbourhood was surprisingly hefty and extensive. This gave rise to the idea of maintaining the mill on site and elevating it to a scaffold mill. This would restore it more or less to its former glory. So during this restoration, which was necessary to allow the cap to be crested again, a scaffold was reinstalled. However, not equipped with braces, as was originally the case, but with uprights. The scaffolding was also raised 40 centimetres higher than before.