Jasper man's old-school windmill collection draws visitors from across the country

JASPER, Minn. — The winds of history can be found in Pipestone County. 

"I come from 'Chicagoland' where they say it's the Windy City. No, this is windy," Trinidad Garcia said.

Even on a day with low-hanging clouds, you can still see the wind turbines that tower over parts of southwestern Minnesota.

These giants capture wind from the prairie, but they're a light breeze compared to what you'll see on Terry Rodman's farm.

"It's kind of all my wife's fault because she wanted a Dutch windmill," Rodman said.

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In 1999, Rodman built a windmill for his wife, from scratch. Then, to balance things out, he put up a farm windmill — and people around Jasper, took notice.

"Then other people said if you are looking for a windmill, I've got one. I've got one. I've got one. And it just kind of bundled up," Rodman said.

Century-old farm relics once used to pump water out of the ground found a new home at Rodman's. He now has 44 windmills and counting. But no two are alike. The tallest is 54 feet high. The shortest is 11 feet.

To be in this collection, they have to stand out — like the twin fan windmill from Hutchinson, Kansas.

"I want something different than everybody else has. The foreign windmills are different. I have them from Spain and the Netherlands, China, Australia, South Africa," Rodman said.

There's a windmill from Roswell, New Mexico, that is the widest on the farm. It has a 20-foot diameter. Rodman drove a thousand miles to pick it up and bring it back.

He uses a truck to get the artifacts in place and then anchors them down with concrete. Across the road is a sort of windmill hospital — that's where Rodman spends time repairing old windmills for other people.

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"One guy said that was my job when I was a kid. I had to go up there and grease that thing every week. He said it didn't make any difference if it was cold and icy and windblown with snow," Garland said.

He's had visitors from across the country — many to reminisce about a time that was, while others just enjoy the farm relic revolution.

"It's surprising how many young people come out in their 30s and 40s," Rodman said. "That's one of the things that really keeps us going is people that'll comment about how glad they are to see someone collecting these."

Rodman's windmills were built anywhere between the 1880s and 1930s. His farm is located near the South Dakota border, a couple miles north of Jasper and anyone is welcome to stop by and check his collection.