Windmill of Bouwel

Originally, the inhabitants of Bouwel were obliged to have their grain ground in the mill of Grobbendonk. It was not until after the French Revolution in 1789 that Bouwel got his own windmill with accompanying mill house (no. 37). At the beginning of the 19th century the barn was added. It was later converted into a home. Around 1859 a second mill house was built on the other side of the street (no. 36). In 1890, George de Bosschaert de Bouwel bought the mill.
The old mill was burned down in 1914 by the retreating Belgian army for strategic reasons. Only the dies remained. In 1925 the then owner, George de Bosschaert de Bouwel, had a new mill built on the remaining dies. With the compensation for war damage, the stake mill of Westerlo-Voortkapel was purchased and rebuilt on the same site in 1925. This mill probably dates from 1713. The oldest inscription inside reads: "Frans Vermeylen 25/9/1732".
The owner at the time was Mr. de Bosschaert de Bouwel who rented the mill to miller Louis Van De Poel. He kept the mill in operation until 1940 when a violent storm caused heavy damage. After years of neglect, the mill was purchased by the Hoeben-Somers family from Deurne. They had the mill restored in 1973 by the Caers brothers from Retie and set up a country house there. Since then, the mill has been able to grind again and is regularly put into operation by the Hoeben family.
Source: Municipality of Grobbendonk

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