Seinmast
The seinmast
The seinmast was used to stop the drainage of canals in North Holland to prevent flooding of polders. The system functioned until 1970 and was crucial for water management in the region to keep land dry. The seinmast was controlled by the main signal in Spijkerboor.
To protect against water, North Holland was an elaborate system of dykes and dams at the mercy of the force and vicissitudes of water and weather. Hundreds of mills loomed on the IJ and the North Sea Canal. However, the regular floods of the Zuiderzee and the Wadden Sea often presented the water boards with difficult issues. Dykes could breach or pleasure craft aggravated flooding. A timely and immediate stop to milling was then called for.
Mill web
The signal to stop...
The seinmast
The seinmast was used to stop the drainage of canals in North Holland to prevent flooding of polders. The system functioned until 1970 and was crucial for water management in the region to keep land dry. The seinmast was controlled by the main signal in Spijkerboor.
To protect against water, North Holland was an elaborate system of dykes and dams at the mercy of the force and vicissitudes of water and weather. Hundreds of mills loomed on the IJ and the North Sea Canal. However, the regular floods of the Zuiderzee and the Wadden Sea often presented the water boards with difficult issues. Dykes could breach or pleasure craft aggravated flooding. A timely and immediate stop to milling was then called for.
Mill web
The signal to stop or restart was given by the gathering mill at Spijkerboor. That mill, the spider in the mill web, signalled this to other mills via a seinmast . In the highest position, this meant the stop signal. Adding a blue flag cloth reinforced that signal. This was responded to by mills in the immediate vicinity, so the signal spread like an oil slick across the Zaan region and beyond.
For example, the Assendelverpolder in the south to Uitgeest and the Noordermolens in large parts of North Holland above the IJ were also notified to stop turning immediately.
After the advent of steam pumping stations, the mill web disappeared and the signal masts lost their function. They became redundant and were demolished. The familiar mast on the Starnmeerdijk also disappeared. Instead, lights and sirens were used to warn the dike operators of the steam pumping stations. A lantern was still hung in the mast at night until the 1930s. It only disappeared when the mast was removed.
