Pointe-Claire Windmill

{{short description|Montreal windmill built in 1710}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}

{{Infobox monument

|monument_name = Pointe-Claire Windmill

|native_name = Moulin à vent de Pointe-Claire

|image = Pointe-claire windmill.jpg

|caption = Pointe-Claire windmill in winter

|location = 1 rue Saint-Joachim, Pointe-Claire

|designer =

|type =

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|length =

|width = {{convert|4|m}}

|height = {{convert|7.5|m}}

|begin =

|complete = 1710

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|coordinates = {{coord|45.42511|-73.8256|display=inline,title}}

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The Pointe-Claire Windmill (French: Moulin à vent de Pointe-Claire) is a windmill in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest windmill on the island of Montreal and one of 18 remaining windmills in Quebec.[http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=93473&type=bien#.X1Za1tR7nv0 RPCQ patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca]

Like most mills in New France it was built to a French design, a cylindrical stone tower with a movable roof which could be turned by a tail pole to face the sails to the wind. The mill had two doors, to provide an exit regardless of which ways the sails faced. The walls are four French feet (1m32) thick at the base. The interior is 12 French feet in diameter by 24 high.{{cite book|title=A la pointe claire|year=2005|publisher=Conseil du patrimoine de Montreal|isbn=2-9808545-4-9|pages=3–47}} The mill originally contained elevated platforms beneath gun slits for defence. The surrounding shoreline was fenced with pointed wooden stakes. However, the site was never attacked.{{cite book|last=Matthews|first=Brian|title=A History of Pointe-Claire|year=1985|page=24}}