Windmill

Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Rémire-Montjoly windmill, located in Guyana, is a historical monument classified by decree of 18 October 1994. Built in the 1st quarter of the 19th century, it is distinguished by its hybrid architecture, blending the characteristics of European mills and Antillean cowmills. Its conical tower, 8.50 meters high and with an identical diameter, is built in local steritic stone bellows, with frames of imported berry materials such as sandstone or brick. This mill, probably ostentatious due to the low and irregular winds of the region, was equipped with vertical rollers to grind the sugar canes.

The mill is the only vestige of the Windmill Habitation, a sugar estate whose land, once cultivated in sugar cane, extended until 1945. The site originally belonged to the Jesuits of Loyola (1668–65), and was then integrated into the Grand Beauregard estate until the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. He changed ownership several times, including the Detelles brothers, before being acquired in 1936 by the Syndicat des Petits Planteurs de cane de Remire. After the 1945 sugar crisis, the land was sold to a private company, then bought by the state in 1977 before being transferred to the commune of Rémire-Montjoly in 1994, year of its ranking.

Archaeological excavations carried out in 1985 and 1991 revealed furniture dating from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, suggesting that its construction coincided with the arrival of Antillais in Guyana, mastering the techniques of these mills. A Buchanan steam machine, used from 1882 to 1945 to grind the canes, remains at the foot of the hill where the mill is erected. The 1733 engraved dedication on the tower might indicate a re-use of materials or an unconfirmed earlier date, but the sources agreed on a construction in the early 19th century.

Architecturally, the mill takes over the standard dimensions of the Antillean mills: a height and diameter of 8 to 10 meters, thick walls of 1 to 1.30 meters, and a straight wooden staircase serving two floors. The main door, placed under the wind, avoided air currents, while a skylight illuminated the interior. The niches in the walls and the coarse apparatus, mixing local and imported materials, demonstrate an adaptation to the available resources. The coral lime-based crepi, typical of the Antillean buildings, reinforces this cultural link.

Today owned by the commune, the mill is a unique testimony to Guyana's sugar history and technical exchanges between the West Indies and Guyana. Its classification as a historical monument in 1994 allowed its preservation, although its initial use was limited by local climatic conditions. The site, located less than one kilometre from the Loyola housing, offers a panorama of the evolution of agricultural and industrial techniques in the region.

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