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Visitors Guide to
Golden
Adams County, Illinois |
The Village of Golden is a primarily agricultural center in northwest
Adams County. Some of the first settlers to the Golden area were the
families of Gerd Tjarks Franken and his brother-in-law Jann Gerdes Buss
of Ostfriesland, a coastal region in northwest Germany. They arrived in
New Orleans in May of 1848 intending to go travel on to Texas. After
learning of Kickapoo and Lipan Apache raids on settlers and a drought
their plans changed and they traveled up the Mississippi River to St.
Louis where they heard of a community of Germans from Ostfriesland in
nearby Waterloo, Illinois. While on the docks of St. Louis they were
advised by a German farmer that the land near Waterloo was unhealthy and
swampy due to the repeated floods of the Mississippi River and were
advised to continue upriver to the Quincy, Illinois area. The people of
Quincy were hospitable and provided shelter and assistance in finding
work. Franken and Buss were told of available prairie land in Clayton
Township in northwest Adams County. By 1848 both families were farming
the land in this area. Letters to the homeland with favorable reports
about the conditions in Clayton Township induced other families to
immigrate to the area. The 1850 census of Clayton Township lists 7
families from Germany. By 1852 another 7 families had joined their
fellow countrymen. These 14 families organized Immanuel Lutheran Church
of South Prairie in 1852 and the church and the blacksmith shop of
Hinrich Franzen formed the nucleus of a new community.
In 1854 "The Custom Mill", the first of three
wind-powered grinding mills was built. Hinrich R. Emminga was
responsible for building all three Dutch style windmills that operated
in the Golden area. Trained as a millwright in Germany, Emminga
immigrated to the Golden area in February 1852. Instead of cash, Emminga
would receive a percentage of the grain from the farmer as his milling
fee, which he would then grind into flour for sale. The second mill,
“The Gronewold Mill" was built in 1865 and a third mill, "The Prairie
Mill" was built in 1872-73. Hinrich Emminga operated the Prairie Mill
until the fall of 1878 when he sold it to his son. The Emminga family
continued milling operations well into the 20th century. In 1889 H. H.
Emminga built a “New Era” steam mill which had a more reliable steam
engine and incorporated the “roller process” of milling wheat that
significantly increased the quantity and quality of wheat flour. The
Prairie Mill continued to mill corn meal and specialty flours from
buckwheat and graham. The Prairie Mill continued
to operate as a wind-powered mill until 1924 after a storm tore off two
of the four sails.
After this storm the windmill was modified
to operate using a gasoline engine until all operations at the mill
ceased in 1930.
In 1862 the Wabash Railway
located its branch line from Clayton to Keokuk, Iowa, and J. H. Wendell
built a shack and a small saloon on the side of the tracks near their
junction with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
Others
soon followed, L. U. Albers and G. H. Buss opening stores and after a
becoming business partners they established a grain house. This emerging
village became known as Keokuk Junction. At first the CB & Q Railroad
refused to recognize the Junction as a station and goods bound for that
point were shipped to La Prairie. This changed after Keokuk Junction
established a post office in 1863. Keokuk Junction was platted in 1866
and incorporated in 1867. The town was reincorporated under terms of new
legislation in 1873 and not long afterward changed its name to Golden.
Golden is best known today for the Prairie Mill Windmill. After
milling operations ceased in 1930 the windmill had several owners
who used the mill as a supper club, a home, and a tavern. The doors
closed for good in the early 1980's and the conditions of the mill
quickly deteriorated. In 1986 Golden area citizens organized the
Golden Historical Society to purchase and restore the mill.
In 1995 the Society acquired the services of Derek Ogden, a
world-renowned millwright, to lead the restoration, which began in
1996. The society successfully ground grain with the Prairie Mill
for the first time in 2002 and the restoration was completed in
2004. The mill now appears and operates as it did in its prime
condition of 1890. The Golden Historical Society operates a museum
and a gift shop at the site and conducts tours as well as hosting a
number of annual events.
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