Wind, you may spend half your time thanking the good Lord for it and the other half of your time cussing it. Without the Windmill, it is a question of if the West ever would have been won. Water is the one thing that needed to be harnessed in order for the people, stock and crops to survive. Without the windmill, this simple, yet essential need was reliant upon the rivers, streams and lakes that existed.

That worked if you had the water rights on your property back then. But without the windmill pumping away, all of those wells that were drilled to supply people and livestock with water would have had to be pumped by hand or yoking some animal to a turn-style and having them walk around and around.

Just think about it for a moment, until just about 100 years ago wide spread electrical power grid as we know it today did not exist, they were largely spurred on by WWI. Prior to 1914 there were several small independent power companies that supplied the high density populations, Ranchers and Farmers were left hanging in the wind. "Sorry, I had to."
So take your hats off to the Wind Mill.

http://jimmoon.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Eastern-Arizona/G0000A6pyP...