Varsseveldsestraatweg 31, Aalten

Overview

In 1845 an eight-sided timber smock mill named De Eendracht was built on the then Melkertsweg, now Varsseveldsestraatweg, in Aalten. The mill served as both a corn mill and sawmill and later developed into the sawmill of W.A. (Wim) van Gaans. By 1967 most of the mill had disappeared.

On 26 March 1844, the municipal council considered carpenter J.B. van Eerden’s request to King William II “tot de oprigting eenen KoornWindmolen in den zoogenaamde Aaltensche Esch aan de melkertsweg bij het dorp”. E. Roerdink and others, owners of the Oude Molen on Koningsweg, had lodged an objection arguing that another mill was unnecessary and would reduce their income. The council considered the latter argument plausible but not the former and granted permission.

De Eendracht was completed in 1845 as a sawmill and corn mill. It later received house number B 207 in the Hogestraat numbering series. Varsseveldsestraatweg could be reached by an uphill path that later became known as ‘het pad van Gaans’.

In 1934, the mill received the official address Varsseveldscheweg 31. By 1967, the site was occupied by the sawmill of Wilhelmus Antonius (Wim) van Gaans. Part of the masonry base of the mill’s eight-sided substructure was still visible inside the sawmill shed.

House numbering