Two days after he came to Beatrice, C.B. Dempster purchased 1/3 interest in a "little retail pump and windmill shop for $337.00, being my total assets, and $300.00 of that was borrowed money."  With a variety of business partners, Dempster operated the windmill agency at Beatrice, selling mills produced elsewhere which he purchased from a wholesaler in Omaha.  The business ebbed and flowed, but by 1884 Dempster had earned the tidy sum of $15,000.00 in profits from his enterprise.  Realizing that revenues would be greater if he could actually produce the windmills that he sold, the next year under the name of the Dempster Windmill Company, his firm began manufacturing its first windmill.  In 1886 the business was incorporated under laws of the state as the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company, the corporate title under which it produced windmills into the middle of the 20th Century, when it became Dempster Industries, Inc., of Beatrice, which continues making windmills today.

The first windmill manufactured by the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company was the Original solid wheel.  This mill was produced in 10' and 12' diameters.  It is interesting from several perspectives not only as the first mill from a well known manufacture but also as one of the pioneer windmills used on the central Great Plains.

The Original Dempster Solid Wheel was manufactured until 1909, at which time its place as a solid wheel mill in the Dempster line was taken by the Dempster No. 9 Solid Wheel.  Its sales already had been decreased in the 1890's and early 1900's by the introduction of several short lived solid wheel wooden Dempster mills such as the Beatrice, New Era, and the Dempster No. 5 Solid Wheel.  Despite this fact, many old Original Dempster mills remained in service into the 1920's as evidenced by the fact that the manufacturer continued supplying repair parts for them as late as 1925.  Today, however, the mill is a rare find.

Dempster Steel is a term referring to a number of somewhat similar open back geared windmills sold by the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company in the 1890's and early 1900's.  All these varied mills contain some common elements, but each was sufficiently different from the others to be given a distinct name and to be marketed as an individual product.  None of these mills are seen often, yet examples of them may be found in the field especially on the central Great Plains where they were marketed most heavily.

Further complicating the history of the Dempster Steel Mills are three additional mills produced by the maker during the first decade of the 20th Century.  These are the Dempster No. 6 Steel, also known as the Improved Dempster No. 6, which appeared in 1903; the Dempster No. 7 Steel, also called the Improved Dempster No. 7, which appeared the same year; and the Arrow Steel which came on the market in 1906.  all these Dempster Steel mills have certain common characteristics, such as their wheel construction and governing systems.

The great variety of steel windmills produced by the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company between 1892 and 1909 illustrates well the problems which manufacturers found in searching for satisfactory designs during the early years of steel mill production.  Many mills simply proved to be unsatisfactory, and may of the criticisms leveled against the "tin mills" undoubtedly were valid.  All these steel mills were, in turn, adopted and then rejected by the manufacturer before it finally perfected is open back geared steel mill.

Introduced in 1907, the Dempster No. 8 was an open single back geared mill manufactured in 6', 8', 10' , and 12' diameters.  The No. 8 mills are back geared at a ratio of 4 to 1 on the smaller mills, 3 to 1 on 8' and 10' models, and 2 1/2 to one on the 12' sizes.

Manufactured in the same sizes and gear rations s the Mo. 8, the Dempster No. 10 open double back gear mills was introduced in 1914.  The No. 10 employs two large crank gears which mesh with two smaller gears keyed to the main shaft.

The use of double gear mills became common among many American windmill manufacturers during the years around WWI and the Dempster No. 10 is a good example of this type mill. 

Wheel sections, vanes and some other parts are interchangeable between Dempster No. 8 and No. 10.  The Dempster No. 8 windmill was manufactured until 1917, while the Dempster No. 10 remained on the market until 1925, by which time the self oiling Dempster No. 12 had taken its place in the Dempster line.  Although by no means common today, the Dempster Nos. 8 and 10 windmills may be seen throughout the Great Plains and Midwest as well as occasionally in other parts of the country.

The Dempster No. 9 Solid Wheel windmill is one of the several almost identical windmills which various manufacturers began producing when the patent rights on the Eclipse windmill, formerly held by Fairbanks, Morse, and Company entered the public domain early in this century.  The No. 9 is a virtual copy of the earlier regular pattern Eclipse.  The only exception being minor differences in the castings, changes in casting numbers,  and the paint color.  The Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company produced the No. 9 solid wheel wooden windmill from 1908 to 1925 in 10', 12', and 14' sizes.  In addition, from 1918 to 1922, it made the mill in 16' and 18' sizes.  The most visible characteristic of the No. 9 which allows one to distinguish it from the
more common Eclipse is its coloring.  While the Eclipse is painted olive green with blood red trim, the wooden parts of the No. 9 were dipped in white lead paint, and then the tips of the blades were trimmed in bright red.  The inscription on the vane, which varied slightly through the years, was stenciled in black.  The governor weight on the No. 9 is in the form of a moon, as on the Eclipse, but it bears no marking other than its casting number.

The most frequently seen Dempster vaneless windmills are number 1,2,3 4, and 14.  These mills, all produced by the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company during the 20th Century, were the successors to the 10', 12', and 14' original Dempster Vaneless manufactured from 1892 to 1900, and the 14' and 16' Dempster Vaneless Irrigator marketed from 1895 to 1917.

Dempster Vaneless Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 succeeded each other as vaneless pumping mills produced by the Beatrice, Nebraska company.  The four mills have both similarities and differences, but they are easily identified in the field.  All four mills are distinctive horse shaped counterweights, Nos. 1 and 2 with long tailed horses, and Nos. 3 and 4 with short tailed horses.

The Dempster No. 14, the last vaneless mill produced by the firm is unlike any other widely distributed vaneless windmill in North America because it has a self oiling design.  Mechanically, the mill is somewhat similar to the Dempster No. 5 direct stroke self oiling mill.  The No. 14 was produced from 1923 to 1941 and was available only in a 10' size.  The mill also differs from the other Dempster vaneless mills in that its arms are trussed steel, while the arms on the other are made of oak.

All styles of Dempster Vaneless mills may be seen in the field, especially on the Great Plains and in the Midwest.  From the five mills, the Dempster No. 2 is probably the most rarely spotted, while the Dempster Nos. 3 and 4 are probably the most frequently observed.  Often these mills may be found defaced, with the horse shaped counterweight pirated by windmill weight collectors.

The Dempster No. 11 Self Oiling mill is a transitional windmill design that  appeared in the 1920's. It demonstrates that the manufacturer realized the importance of the self oiling mills to the buying public, but is crude design show that the firm had yet to perfect such a mill.  The No. 11 mill is a direct stroke oil bath pumping mill with wheel and vane available in either wood or steel.  The purchaser could choose the material he preferred and the wood and steel parts were interchangeable on the same size mills.

Produced from 1922 to 1929, the wooden No. 11 was made in 10', 12', and 14' sizes while the steel style was produced at the same time in these sizes plus a smaller 8' diameter pattern.  The wooden parts of the mill were dipped in white lead paint and then trimmed with bright red tips on the blades and on the trailing edge of the vane, while the inscription of the vane was black.  The steel wheel available on the No. 11 consists of curved sheet steel blades attached with riveted steel wheel clips to curved bar steel rims.  The wheel sections are bolted to trussed bar steel arms identical to those used on the wooden wheel No. 11.  The vane sheet is fabricated from sheet steel and is like that used on the Dempster Nos. 8 and 10 with the exception that it has sharp instead of rounded corners.

The Dempster No. 11 Self Oiling mill is quite easily identified in the filed.  Among its characteristics which are readily visible are the profile of its sheet steel hood, the shape of its vane, and in the case of the wooden variant, the unusual use of trussed steel arms to support wheel sections on the solid wheel wooden mills.  Examples of the No. 11 may be found in most of the area of the country where Dempster products were used heavily in the 1920's.

Introduced in 1922 and still in production, the Dempster No. 12 Annu Oiled windmill, for over half a century, has led the line of windmills produced by the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company.  It is a self oiling back geared steel pumping windmill which is one of the first to be spotted on a cross country trip.   The Dempster No. 12 initially appeared in an 8' or 10' diameter babbitt bearing model in 1922, but by the next year that pattern was supplanted by an almost equally short lived 8' or 10' style equipped with Hyatt roller bearings.  These two early models were replaced in 1925 by 6', 8', and 10' No. 12 mills fitted with Timken roller bearings, and this basic mill has remained in production for over 50 years.  In 1925, short stroke 12' mills came out only to be replaced with long stroke 12' mills in 1929.  It was also in 1929 that 14', 16', and 18' patterns first appeared.

Today the Dempster No. 12 continues to be manufactured in 6' , 8', 10', 12', and 14' sizes by Dempster Industries, Inc., of Beatrice, Nebraska, the successor of the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company.  In February 1981, the manufacturer introduced a new diamond shaped steel vane sheet for these mills, although it retained the same vane stem design.  All the steel parts of the mill which are exposed to the elements are galvanized at the factory.  The cast iron parts are painted an attractive bright red color.  All the moving parts of the mill are protected from contamination by a sheet steel hood.  Some of the most frequently seen windmills in America and among the few still being manufactured, the Dempster No. 12 mills may be seen in almost all parts of the US and in many foreign countries. 

The Dempster No. 15 Annu Oiled was one of a handful of self oiling direct stroke steel windmills manufactured in the US between the two World Wars.  This mill first appeared in a 10' size in 1927 and was followed the next year by 8' and 12' models, all of which were produced by the Dempster Company until they were discontinued in 1941.  Although some elements of the Dempster No. 15, such as the vane design and governing system, are similar to those on the back geared No. 12, most of the mill is a distinct departure from the design of the slightly earlier back geared mill.

Although at first glance, the wheel on the Dempster No. 15 appears to be the same as on the back geared No. 12, it differs in one significant way.  Its curved galvanized sheet steel blades are attached to the curved steel bar steel rims with the same type of steel clips, but the area and pitch of the blades is quite different because the wheel on a back geared mill is designed to spin quickly, whereas that on a direct stroke mill must necessarily turn more slowly to develop the required power and appropriate speed for pumping one stroke of the pump to each revolution of the wheel.

The manufacturer did not hesitate to address the farmer and rancher on any and all grounds to sell its products.  In one company publication it  pointed out that 87% of milk consists of water, so quite naturally, "water (provided by a Dempster windmill) is the most important ingredient in the dairy ration."  Appealing to a man's love and concern for his wife, an advertising writer noted, "If there is nothing heavier than lead, it is water in the laundry bucket after the 10th trip to the well."  He continued that in rural life, the "smile disappears, beauty fades, but a faucet in the laundry room can do wonders to keep the young farm wife young and lovely."  The promoter concluded, "Mother's fondest wish is such a simple thing for you to grant...A windmill water system!"

Despite the many design differences between the Dempster No. 15 and the Dempster No. 12 mills, frequently the direct stroke No. 15 is confused with its much more common back geared contemporary.  This is because the vane on the No. 15 has the familiar hexagon Dempster profile coupled with a self oiling head, and most windmill enthusiasts glance at it, and assume that the mills is  a No. 12, and pass it by with no further notice.