The ELI windmill was a brand produced by the Kregel Windmill Factory of Nebraska City, founded in 1879 by George F. Kregel. The factory made windmills until World War II, when wartime material rationing forced production to stop. After the war, George's son Arthur took over and concentrated on water well and pump services. The factory also made bee hives, and the company remained in operation until Arthur's death in 1991. In the early 1990's, the factory was recognized as the last historically intact windmill factory in the United States, preserved by community members and being restored as a museum. This particular windmill came from the farm of the P. Edw. Peterson family north of Nebraska City. Windmills have been used for irrigation pumping and milling since the 7th Century, and in the early United States the development of the water-pumping windmill helped make farming and ranching possible across broad areas lacking readily accessible water. For many years, the multi-bladed wind turbine on a wood or steel lattice tower was a familiar feature of rural America.