Oelermolen (Oldemeule / Oelemeulle)

The oldest mention of this watermill is from the loan register of Otto van Bentheim (1346-1364). On May 25, 1334, Ole Mole’s estate was enfeoffed on Evert van Bevervoorde by Simon, Count of Bentheim. Not only the mill is loaned, but also the Nijehuys, or a small castle that once stood to the east of the current mill.

Then we find in the loan registers the names of, for example, the following noble families:

• Van Langen (1440)
• Van Bevervoorde (1644-1828)
• Von Munchausen (1767)
• Solomonson (1805)

A lot of hassle

House and mill have been inseparable over the centuries. From the 16th century we also read various stories about the water mill and its millers. For example about Robert miller ‘ter oelder mill’. He is said to have fathered a child out of wedlock that he did not want to know. A lawsuit has even been filed by the mother about this. Water damage has also been claimed by people living upstream because the miller had pushed the water too long and too high to give the mill power.

French revolution

In 1690, a facade stone was placed in honor of the rebuilding of the mill. ‘From the bottom up’ and then the names of the nobles who had arranged this. Renewed from the ground up. Older material was used during the reconstruction. This can be seen from a beam that was used inside the mill and which bears the year 1668. And, during the French Revolution, the coats of arms of the noble families were cut from the facade stone. Too bad, but a nice story.

Two mills and decay

The mill consisted of two mills. One on the left of the mill stream and one on the right. The northern mill still exists. That’s the grain mill. The southern mill has disappeared. That was an oil mill. There is another photo of both from 1883.

In 1880 the mill came into the possession of Twickel and then the oil mill fell into disrepair. After all, Twickel already had a mill, the Noordmolen, also part of this cycle route. We have a nice description of the building complex from a sales advertisement by notary Staring from 1858.

The Oelermolen has been running again since 1976

The flour mill continued to work until the Second World War. In 1971, the dilapidated mill was transferred ‘free of charge’ to the municipality of Hengelo. In 1972 the mill was thoroughly renovated by the municipality of Hengelo. That is why there is still a well-functioning grain mill with undershot wheel here. The water flows against the bottom blades, causing the wheel to turn. First the decay, then the water power. This may not work well at low tide (we as millers know this all too well). They thought of something about that in the past. It is good to see that lower in the mill there was still an axle of an overshot wheel. This allowed the mill to run longer at the time. The available water was directed to the wheel and fell just over the center onto the blades. This caused the wheel to turn.

Since National Mill Day in 1976, the mill has been running again and real grain can be ground. The opening hours can be found at the bottom of the overview on the homepage.