Please arrive by 3:30 pm so you have plenty of time to find that perfect tree!
231 Adamic Hill Road, Milford, New Jersey 08848, United States
Volendam Windmill at Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree Farm
About the Mill and our Mission to Restore and Preserve it
This authentic model of a wind-driven mill used for grinding raw grain into flour, was designed and built by the late Poul (pronounced Paul) Jorgenson and his wife May Jorgenson in Holland Township, New Jersey. The sixty-foot grist mill is a seven-story structure with sail arms that measure 68 feet from end-to-end. It is a smock mill type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weather boarded tower with six or eight sides topped with a rotating roof or cap that brings the sails into the wind. Although the sail arms on this windmill could turn, the windmill was not used for this purpose. Old milling tools, ancient millstones and wooden shoes were displayed when the mill was operational. Unfortunately over the years, high winds and severe storms, most notably Hurricane Sandy, have significantly damaged the exterior of the mill. Due to the damage, the mill is currently not open to the public. The mill is co-located with Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree Farm at 231 Adamic Hill Road in Milford, New Jersey.
OUR MISSION:
Our mission is a simple one: To save the windmill from further deterioration and restore it to its original beauty; preserve an iconic local landmark and incorporate it into current and future agricultural ventures on the preserved family owned and operated farm on which it is located.
We believe we can accomplish this mission in three phases with a continuous and recurring focus on fund raising, public awareness and education about the mill and its history:
Phase one: Conduct general clean-up inside and outside of the windmill and demolish deteriorated and un- reparable components of the mill. Remove the deck, broken sails and tail from the windmill. Replace windows and patch existing holes to prevent weather and animals from further damaging the interior spaces of the mill. Phase one will be accomplished through fundraising and requests for volunteers to accomplish the clean-up and required demolition.
Phase two: Determine cost effective, modern and sustainable materials with which to rebuild the sails, tail and deck of the mill. Phase two will be accomplished through fundraising efforts, donations of building materials, and volunteers.
Phase three: Transform the first and second floor of the mill into usable space that will support agricultural efforts on the farm. Possible uses include farm office space, area to support a local farmers market or possible use as a “Christmas Mill”. The third floor of the windmill will be dedicated to the memory of Poul and May Jorgenson and to the educational ideals for which Poul erected the mill. Visitors to the Christmas Tree farm, or to future agricultural endeavors on the farm, will be able to visit the third floor of the mill to learn about Poul and May and their dream to build a “Volendam” windmill in the rolling hills of western New Jersey.
END STATE: End state is the successful restoration of the mill to its original beauty, an iconic local landmark preserved for future generations and a plan established to sustain the mill into the future as part of the agricultural operations of the family preserved farm.
