Dutch Windmill in a California Mission Town

By Paso Robles Press · Thu Nov 20 2025

By Lynne Schmitz

By 1941, Camp Roberts was fully operational, training far more soldiers than originally anticipated. San Miguel itself had grown rapidly the year before, as people arrived seeking jobs, and the influx of military families further swelled the population. Businesses in San Miguel and nearby Paso Robles were thriving.

Just a couple of years earlier, in 1939, the World’s Fair and Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco had showcased the architecture, foods, and cultures of many nations — including the Netherlands. At the end of a long street sat a charming Dutch windmill pastry shop, though whether it had been built in Holland or on-site for the Exposition remained a mystery. A docent at the Treasure Island Museum admitted, “We never knew what happened to it,” sparking a story that would later intertwine with San Miguel’s own history.

In 1941, two enterprising visitors — likely inspired by the Exposition — brought the windmill to San Miguel. Carefully dismantled and numbered, it traveled by train and was reconstructed on the east side of Mission Street (then Highway 101), near where the San Miguel Fire Station stands today.

More research led me to local newspaper articles. According to plans announced by financiers Wm. Woodfield Jr. & Associates of San Francisco, the large windmill was intended to be the first building in a block-long recreation center. It would be a dance hall with a soft drink and malted milk bar. The adjoining buildings were to house a roller rink, food, and amusements.

But when it appeared that the population was ebbing, the project was shelved. The windmill became a café and bar for a time, and later a Wells Fargo Express Office. A garage was operated in the building from 1948 to 1952.

In 1960, Mike Walkup bought the windmill and used it for storage. In 1970, he rented it to Larry Upton, who owned the Chevron Station, for auto storage for a short time. Then, a family of European refugees arrived, rented the building, and opened another garage. People in San Miguel were divided on the refugees’ country of origin, but all agreed they were “dirt poor.” They lived in a truck and went house to house asking for help.

One bright spot in their lives came when the family’s mother was crowned “Queen for a Day” on the popular 1950s daytime TV show and received many nice gifts. They soon moved on, and the building fell into serious disrepair. Weathered, abandoned, and neglected, it was eventually a target for an arsonist who burned it to the ground in December of 1978.

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