"That's Gary Creek you're looking at, which goes into Little Choptank," Buzz Fulmer told me from the top of the Spocott windmill. He joked it's the highest point in Dorchester County.
The mill that stands now is a 1972 reconstruction of the original one that fell in 1888.
On October 27th Spocott welcomed community members to explore the property with an open house.
Spocott rests on what used to be the town of Lloyd's George Radcliffe told me.
Radcliffe manages the property and Spocott windmill foundation. It's about six miles west of Cambridge down Hudson Road. The village is a reconstruction of the self-sufficient community that existed on the property in the 19th century. There's also Dorchester county's first schoolhouse, a civil war era doctor's office and the cottage of Adaline Wheatley, who worked as a cook and house manager for the family that lived at Spocott.
"The property has been in our family since 1663, and it will remain so until it goes underwater, which is starting to happen right now." Radcliffe said.
The property is in need of major renovations. The larges project would be reconstructing the windmill itself.
"We've got a woman in an outfit from the Boston area that are going to do it if we can raise the funds. Unfortunately, it's going to cost significant amount of money." Radcliffe said.
About half a million dollars he told me, and the open house was a way to raise awareness and gauge interest.
"What we're wrestling with right now is there are a core of us that obviously are very interested in history, but are the younger generations, is it important to them? It's nice if we raise the money and restore the windmill, but if nobody in generations to come is interested, then we're kind of wasting our time." Radcliffe said.
The original mill was built by Radcliffe's great grand father, John LeCompte Radcliffe, and fell when Radcliffe's grandfather, Senator George Radcliffe, was 10 years old.
"In March of 1888, and we researched it, there was a monstrous winter storm, really devastated parts of New York City, basically the whole coast. The winds just completely obliterated the mill to where all they could salvage were literally the internal steps and the two stones. How my grandfather as a 10 year old moved 700 pounds stones, I have no idea." Radcliffe said.
The former senator Radcliffe decided to rebuild the mill in the 70s.
"And I remember when my grandfather first came up with the idea, we all though he was crazy. I mean, why in the world in the 20th century are you building a mill?" Radcliffe said.
At that point no one in the country knew how to build a mill. Senator Radcliffe got master boat builder Jim Richardson to construct it. Richardson did so without blueprints.
"Only Jim Richardson could have done it. Literally, I don't think there's anyone in the country that would have not only had the expertise to do it, but had the time to work it out. But he built model after model and he did find some books, but they were all in Dutch. So, he pretty much had to kind of fly by the seat of his pants. We've had an actual millwright look at it since then now that we're trying to get it rebuilt and millwright said absolutely amazing because Jim was a boat builder. He had never built a windmill before. So to imagine somebody building something that they'd never built before with no idea how to do it, it really is remarkable." Radcliffe said.
Richardson's mill has lasted over 50 years, which, historically, is just about how long mills last. It's already out lasted the original mill.
"We all marvel at the boat building that he did, but to me, the windmill was his ultimate accomplishment because I don't think there's anybody else. Nobody else on the East Coast certainly could have done it." Radcliffe said.
Now the mill hasn't run in seven years and they're trying to reconstruct it with the help of millwright Amy Boyce of Husk Preservation out of Massachusetts. it'll depend on getting the proper funding.
"We could do a superficial job that might get it running for a couple years, but that doesn't make sense. And it's also got to be safe...we take that seriously and we're not going to operate it unless we're 100% sure that it is safe and it's going to last." Radcliffe said.
On Saturday Natalie Chabot visited Spocott with her husband and grandson to show him how life used to be.
"I think it's very important to hold onto your heritage…the ability to have this in your community that young folks can come and see and experience what it used to be like. It's just something you should cherish." Chabot said.
Parts of the Spocott Village are open and free to visitors year round along with an Earth Day celebration in April.
If you cant to donate or learn more information you can find it on https://www.spocottwindmill.org/ .