Blue Creek Windmill

The restored windmill would have sat in the beautiful rolling sand hills 17 miles northeast of Oshkosh, on what is known as the Blue Creek Ranch.

In early 1950, following the blizzard of 1949, John McGinley purchased the ranch from Boys Town, Nebraska. Prior to Boys Town's ownership of the ranch, S.P. Delatour owned and managed it for several years.

The Blue Creek Ranch was home to Pat and Norma McGinley from 1950 until 1986, when it was sold to Red McCombs, a Texas oilman. Since that time, the ranch has changed ownership twice and is presently owned by Atlanta billionaire and businessman, Ted Turner.

Julie, Sue, Pete, and Mary Pat were all raised on the ranch, and many memories were made through the years on the banks of the Blue Creek - from riding the hills horseback, to weddings on the front lawn overlooking the creek, to swimming parties in the cool water, and ice skating on the pond by the bridge during the winter months.

Windmills were the life and blood of the ranch, and at one point there were 27 windmills located on the ranch. All were identified by a name, (the Kate Wells; Thorton; Badger Valley; Peterson; Sherfey; etc.) each having a particular meaning to that location. They were so important to the ranch, that they were checked every other day during the hot summer months. If a well was found with no water, it was an urgent crisis that required immediate attention, and cattle often had to be moved from one well to another because of the water situations.

Windmills continue to pump plentiful water on the Blue Creek Ranch located at the foot of the sand hills just outside Oshkosh, in beautiful Western Nebraska.