Knockloughrim windmill was built some time between 1860
and 1875 by William Palmer (1823-1898) and known locally as Palmer's Folly because it never worked properly.
The windmill was built beside a Steam Mill, also owned by
Palmer, making this one of very the few sites in all of Ireland that had originally both steam and wind powered machinery
in the same location, described as a corn and flax mill.
The windmill is said to have had six sails as opposed to the
more common configuration of four, although there is some argument about this. The original roof was blown off by the "Big Wind" in 1869 and the strange onion shaped top that is there today is a replacement.
After it was disabled by the big wind it had many uses, one of which was as a meeting place for the local Orange Order.
Restored in 1993, the windmill was open to the public for a
time and had a teashop inside. It also housed an exhibition devoted to the huge storm (Big Wind) which did so much structural damage to Northern Ireland. It is presently closed
due to some recently discovered structural problems.
The Windmill is now owned by the Magherafelt and Knockloughrim Methodist Church and stands in the church grounds.
