The Jamestown Windmill is a smock mill

Smock mill

The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind...

 in Jamestown, Rhode Island

Jamestown, Rhode Island

Jamestown is a town located in Newport County, Rhode Island, in the United States. The population was 5,405 at the 2010 census. Jamestown is situated almost entirely on Conanicut Island, the second largest island in Narragansett Bay.-History:...

 within the Windmill Hill Historic District

Windmill Hill Historic District

Windmill Hill Historic District is a historic district at Eldred Avenue and North Main Road in Jamestown, Rhode Island.The area contains several Colonial American buildings including the Old Jamestown Windmill which operated from 1787 until 1896 on Windmill Hill. There is also an active Quaker...

 on North Road north of Weeden Lane.

The 30 feet (9.1 m) high windmill was built in 1787 to grind corn after the British occupational forces destroyed the previous mill around the time of the Battle of Rhode Island

Battle of Rhode Island

The Battle of Rhode Island, also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill and the Siege of Newport, took place on August 29, 1778. Continental Army and militia forces under the command of General John Sullivan were withdrawing to the northern part of Aquidneck Island after abandoning their siege of...

. The windmill operated until 1895. Several renovations were done in the 20th century and the mill is presently maintained by the Jamestown Historical Society. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1973 as building #73000057.