Nederland - Sint Maartensbrug, Noorder G

The current Zijpe and Hazepolder was until the 12th a bog area, protected by the row of dunes from the North Sea. The reclamation of the peat for the benefit of farming led to the land being lowered and due to the rising of the sea level the area was endangered.

From around the year of 1600 the new polder was drained by twenty mills. Each mill took care of its own part (also called afdeling = section). The area was subdivided for this purpose and the 20 parts were assigned the letters of the alphabet (A to U, the letter J was not used).

On a map dating from that year there is no mill in the northern part of section G of the Zijpe polder. Probably this higher part of the section was not drained until around the middle of the 17th century. In 1664 there was at least a windmill. The current Noorder G polder mill is probably still the first original mill.

Until August 1958, this section was only drained using wind power. In that year the windmill was decommissioned and the paddle wheel removed. It was then replaced by a mortar with a diesel engine.

In 1969 the dilapidated windmill became the property of a foundation: Stichting De Zijper Molens. An external restoration was carried out between 1969 and 1972. After the motor mortar had been removed, the inside of the mill was reconstructed during the restoration at the end of 2003. In 2004 the mill was once again able to drain its section of the polder. Since then it is regularly put into operation.