Featured
Support the Windmill
Get Involved
Help keep the Danish Windmill turning. Your gift, membership, or volunteer time supports the daily care, specialized preservation, and public welcome that keep this rare working landmark alive for future generations.
You Can Make a Difference
WE WELCOME YOUR SUPPORT
Donate
Every donation, large or small, helps preserve the Windmill, care for its collections, and share Danish culture with future generations.
Become a Member
Join the supporters who carry Harvey Sornson's impossible dream forward and sustain the Windmill year after year.
Volunteer
Volunteering doesn't have to be a big commitment. From greeting visitors to tending the gardens or helping with special events, you can find a meaningful role that fits comfortably into your life.
Your Support Matters
Keep the mill turning
A windmill was never meant to stand still.
For nearly two centuries, each generation has accepted the responsibility of caring for the Danish Windmill. Their work has protected more than a historic landmark. It has preserved a place where history is experienced, traditions are shared, and visitors discover a lasting connection to Danish culture.
Your support ensures that story continues, inviting future generations to walk through these doors with the same sense of wonder people experience today.
Built to last. Cared for every day.
Donate
Help continue the story
Every gift helps care for the Danish Windmill and the traditions it represents. Your support preserves this remarkable landmark, welcomes visitors from around the world, and ensures future generations can experience Danish culture firsthand.
General Giving
Help cover the everyday costs that keep the doors open, the staff supported, the gift shop operating, and visitors welcomed.
Preservation Fund
Support hands-on preservation of the Windmill, its working parts, and related Danish-American cultural exhibits and craft traditions.
Memorial Gifts
Honor someone meaningful with a gift that supports the Windmill's future.
Endowment and Planned Giving
Create long-term strength for the Danish Windmill through endowment gifts or planned giving.
Stocks, Bonds, and Securities
Support the organization through gifts of appreciated assets.
Plate Donations
Donate Danish plates or collectibles that may support the Windmill through collections, interpretation, or resale.
Skilled hands needed for honest work
Preservation
THE WORK NEVER STOPS
Some things can only be learned by doing.
Working on the Danish Windmill means joining a long line of people who understood the value of skilled hands and honest work. Every repair honors those who cared for this place before us while giving today's volunteers the chance to leave their own mark on a living piece of history.
Become a Member
Carry the dream forward
The Danish Windmill didn't arrive here by chance. It came because people believed an impossible dream was worth pursuing. Today, membership is one way that dream continues, connecting supporters who want to preserve this remarkable place and pass it on in even better condition than they found it.
Individual Membership
For one supporter who wants to help sustain the Danish Windmill and stay connected to its work.
Family Membership
For households who want to support the Windmill together and share the benefits of membership.
Fellow Membership
For supporters who want to provide deeper annual support for preservation, education, and public access.
Lifetime Membership
For long-term supporters who want their membership commitment to become part of the Windmill's continuing story.
A community of support
Membership is more than a transaction.
The original membership language gives equal weight to benefits and belonging. The page should make it clear that members are among the Windmill's strongest supporters and part of the continuing story of the Danish Villages.
Volunteer
Find Your Place Here
The Danish Windmill has always been sustained by people who enjoy working together. Whether you love history, gardening, woodworking, meeting visitors, or organizing collections, we'll help you find a role that feels rewarding from your very first day.
Become a Tour Guide
Help visitors discover the stories that make the Danish Windmill so remarkable. If you enjoy meeting people and sharing local history, this is a chance to become one of the friendly faces every guest remembers.
Volunteer Miller Program
Learn the rare work of operating the sails and, when possible, helping demonstrate the millstones. This is specialized, hands-on preservation.
Digitization
Historic photographs, letters, and records hold stories waiting to be rediscovered. Help preserve these collections so they remain available for future generations.
Gardening
The grounds are every visitor's first impression. Help care for the gardens, pathways, and landscape that make the Windmill feel welcoming in every season.
Newspaper Recovery
Every old newspaper has another story to tell. Search local archives, uncover forgotten moments, and help piece together the history of the Danish Windmill and the people who built it.
Mill Maintenance
If you enjoy working with your hands, you'll feel right at home. Help maintain the machinery, buildings, and grounds while carrying forward skills that have kept the Windmill operating for generations.
Impact
Every Project Tells a Story
Every generation has added something to the Danish Windmill. Past supporters have repaired machinery, restored historic woodwork, protected priceless collections, and created new spaces where visitors can gather, learn, and experience Danish culture. The projects below represent just a few of the ways generosity has shaped the Windmill's continuing story..
1995–1996
Major Mill Restoration
Historic millwrights rebuilt the cap frame and completed one of the Windmill's first major preservation projects, extending the life of the mill for another generation.
2016–2018
Back in the Wind
The windshaft, sails, brake wheel, fantail, and cap frame underwent a major restoration after hidden structural deterioration was discovered. When the work was complete, the Windmill turned again.
2024
Back on the Grind – Phase One
Completed critical improvements including cap frame repairs, windshaft stabilization, a centralized grease bank, brake controls, and sack hoist repairs, making the mill safer to operate and easier to maintain.
2025
Preservation Beyond the Windmill
Established the Preservation Fund and acquired the Old Danish Workshop, the future home of the Education & Preservation Center dedicated to teaching traditional crafts and preserving hands-on skills.
2026
Building for the Future
Work continues on the Education & Preservation Center with building improvements, volunteer support, and new educational spaces that will help pass traditional skills to future generations.
