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Windmill sailmaker — a vanished trade

Windmill sailmaker (1700s–1900s) — Craft workers cut and repaired canvas sails for mechanical windmills. Enclosed, aerodynamic blades and industrial turbine manufacture replaced their local, seasonal trade.

Windmill sailmaker no longer exists as a living trade. Here is what erased it, and which profession took on the work.

1700s–1900s

Craft workers cut and repaired canvas sails for mechanical windmills. Enclosed, aerodynamic blades and industrial turbine manufacture replaced their local, seasonal trade.

What else was happening then

1882 Hydropower lights Appleton

The Vulcan Street Plant demonstrates local hydroelectric generation in Wisconsin.

Where that work lives now

Designs, builds and improves wind, solar, storage and grid systems that turn renewable resources into dependable electricity.

🌬️ Renewable Energy Engineer →

More vanished trades

Trades that vanished →