We passed this large, authentic Dutch windmill on the way to the park in Batavia, but checked out the website and discovered it was open on Sundays from 12:00-3:00 with guides available. It has a free parking lot nearby. It was an amazing, insightful experience to enter this transplanted, former working windmill that had been used for grain grinding in the 1800's, but had been transported and reconstructed and upgraded on Mr. Fabuyan's estate as a mark of distinction. There were three floors to visit and explore, and each level had a park guide who was more than willing to share stories, jokes, and interesting historical tidbits. Fun 30-45 minute stop on a sunny afternoon.

This is a great park. Fantastic for walking and bicycling. We enjoy the sledding in the winter time too. The windmill has tours available during the summer and is quite interesting. It is fully functional and in great shape.

I'd been to the windmill with a friend and wanted to bring my husband. Alas, it is Friday and the windmill is closed. Even so, we enjoyed the placard information and walking around the outside. It is quite a sight!

Great park area, along the banks of the Fox River, offers pavilion, bike/walking path to cross the river and visit the history of the Fabyan Windmill as well as the buildings across the river on the west side. Tours / open hours vary.

At 68 feet tall, the five-story Fabyan Windmill in Batavia, Illinois, is considered one of the best examples of an authentic Dutch windmill in the United States. Built in the mid-19th century, after a major restoration, it has been operating as a seasonal tourism site since 2005. Located on Crissey Avenue, just off Illinois Route 25, north of Batavia, Illinois, near Geneva, in Kane County, it sits upon the one-time estate of Colonel George Fabyan but is now part of the Kane County Forest Preserve District. In 1979, the windmill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The following year, it was selected to be on a U.S. postage stamp as part of a series of five windmills in a stamp booklet called Windmills, USA. In the 1850s, the windmill was constructed by German craftsmen, Louis Blackhaus and his brother-in-law Freidrick Brockmann, on a site at Meyers Road near 16th Street in York Township between Elmhurst and Oak Brook, now Lombard, Illinois. In the early 20th century, it had fallen into a state of disrepair. In 1914, George Fabyan purchased the disused windmill for about $8,000 and had it moved to its present location in Geneva Township on the east side of the Rox River, close to Illinois Route 25. No metal nails were used inside the structure. The giant cypress wood beams, trimmed with black walnut, are all hand joined and doweled with wood dowels. Even the original gearing was hand-made of hickory and maple, with all five floors containing difference mechanisms. The windmill was used by the Fabyans for grinding several types of grain, including corn, wheat, rye and oats. It also served as a grain mill for Fabyan's herd of prized Jersey cattle. The wind-powered mill is a type that was rarely built in the United States, where grist mills are usually powered by water. Kane County considered demolishing the windmill as recently as 1990 when it became structurally unsafe for public inspection. However, local citizens insisted on keeping the mill intact. In 1997, the Forest Preserve District contracted third-generation Dutch windmill maker Lucas Verbij to fully restore the windmill for a cost of over $900,000. Even now, the varnish from 1915 is in near perfect condition and the Roman numeral markings carved into the beams used in original reconstruction are still visible. Verbij said the Fabyan Windmill is the best example of an authentic Dutch windmill in the United States and would be the most popular windmill in the Netherlands. It certainly is a treasure to behold.