Carriage House Lane behind “The Manse”

The seven story Keeley windmill has dominated Dwight’s skyline since J.R. Oughton erected it in 1896 to pump water for his estate. Joliet architect Julian Barnes designed the eight-sided structure. He included an enclosed observation deck offering an excellent view of the growing village.

An 88 barrel cypress tank stored water pumped from an 840′ deep well. The “pumping tower,” as it was called originally, was built by the U.S. Wind, Engine & Pump Co. of Batavia, Illinois. The Oughton estate later gained fame as the home of the Keeley Institute, a treatment clinic for alcoholics. Restoration of the windmill began in 2002.

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