Ceres, Goddess of Grain - Wamego, KS - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

The Old Dutch Mill, also known as the Schonhoff Mill, is located in Wamego City Park in Wamego, Kansas. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The bust of Ceres is located above a window, which is above the entry door to the old mill. The bust was created from white limestone and is about 2 feet X 2 feet x 8 inches in size.

According to the Smithsonian Art Inventory: "The bust is said to be a likeness of the daughter of the original owner of the mill, John Schonhoff. The mill was formerly located 12 miles northwest of Wamego. Mr. and Mrs. Regnier, owners of the mill in 1924, donated it to the city; it was moved to its current location at City Park in June, 1924."

An historical marker at the site reads: "Built in 1879 twelve miles north of Wamego by a Dutch immigrant, this old mill was used to grind grain into flour and cornmeal. In 1925 thirty-five team and wagons moved the mill to Wamego. Each stone was taken down numbered and rebuilt exactly as the original. A bust of Ceres goddess of grain is set above the window. The mill is twenty-five feet in diameter and forty feet high. Wind power has been replaced by electricity to provide a monument in action to Kansas pioneers."

The following additional information is from the Wamego Convention & Visitors Bureau website:

"Standing sentinel in the City Park is one of Wamego’s best known landmarks – the Schonhoff Dutch Mill. The mill, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was originally located 12 miles north of Wamego. Built in the 1870s, a young immigrant named John Schonhoff used it to grind grain until the late 1880s. In 1924, the mill was dismantled, each stone was numbered, and it was all moved into town using 35 horse-drawn wagons, where it was reconstructed in the City Park. It is located next to the Historical Society Museum in City Park (4th St, 2 blocks east of downtown.) It is the state’s only working stone windmill, and is still used to grind wheat to flour today."

TITLE: Ceres, Goddess of Grain ARTIST(S): John Chadwick DATE: 1879 MEDIUM: Bust: native white limestone; Mill: yellow limestone. CONTROL NUMBER: IAS KS000591 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Located at the Old Dutch Mill on 4th Street east of Ash Street in Wamego City Park, Wamego, Kansas. DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: None noted.

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