Replica of XIT's Giant Windmill
Littlefield, Lamb County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Yellowhouse Division of 3,050,000-acre XIT Ranch built (1887) a 132-foot windmill southwest of here. Set in a canyon, it had to be tall to catch breezes and pump water. It was known as the world's tallest windmill until it was toppled by winds in 1926. This replica was erected May 27, 1969. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The sprawling three-million-acre XIT Ranch built a 132-foot windmill on its Yellowhouse Division in 1887, setting it deep in a canyon so it stood tall enough to catch the wind and pump water. Reputed to be the tallest windmill in the world, it stood until high winds finally toppled it in 1926. This replica, raised in 1969, keeps the memory of that engineering marvel alive.
Why it matters
The XIT windmill embodies the audacious scale of the great cattle empires and the water-lifting technology that made ranching possible across the arid Western plains.
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