( PHOTOGRAPHY BY WOLF MATTHEWSON )
The pandemic took the wind out of a lot of sails , Jamestown ’ s included . For the last two years , the 1787 structure has stood tall and still on Windmill Hill . The stay-at-home order shut it down first , then it self-shuttered for extensive repairs to the wind shaft , which shares space in the windmill ’ s bonnet with the sprattle beam , drive shaft , brake wheel and wallower , pictured here . As the interior mechanisms were renovated , the Jamestown Historical Society decided to repair the exterior wooden sails , as well , “ although one wouldn ’ t wish for a pandemic to do this work ,” says historian Rosemary Enright . The $ 35,000 project , funded through investments and a windmill endowment , is set to wrap up in the spring , and the scenic white cloths will catch a breeze in time for the first Windmill Day in three years on July 23 . Thereafter , Enright anticipates smooth sailing at the site . “ I ’ m crossing my fingers as I say that ,” she adds – along with the rest of us . — CASEY NILSSON
96 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2022