Homestead Act: The Challenges of Living on the Plains
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Searching for Water:
Windmills

Windmills helped solve the problem of getting water to the surface by powering pumps. The first commercially successful American windmill was invented in 1854 by a New England mechanic named Daniel Halladay. To take advantage of the growing western market, he moved his company to Illinois. By the 1860s, other companies like the Eclipse had entered the fray, and windmills were in common use in Nebraska by the 1870s. The incessant winds on the plains turned the mill blades and that motion and energy was transferred to a pump at the bottom of the windmill tower. The pump then moved up and down to draw water from the well into storage tanks on the surface. Often the windmills dwarfed the houses.
Custer County Windmill
Sod House, Custer County, Nebraska, 1887.
Photo by Solomon Butcher.
(Note the man halfway up the windmill.)
Windmills evolved as inventive Nebraska and regional manufacturers varied designs to harness the wind more efficiently. A well with a windmill attached, could supply water to man and beast in whatever quantity was needed.

Here's a suggestion — use the “Search” box on the left. Type in the word “windmill” and see how many different types of windmill designs you find in the photographs. They had names like: The Dandy, Everlasting, Favorite, Boss Vaneless, Aermotor, Fouk's Accelerating Air Motor, Parson's Colorado Wind Engine, The Iron Screw, and Aquarius the Water Bearer.