Whirligigs have become part of American art and Folklore for centuries. But long before the Mayflower arrived, whirligigs were spinning in Europe. The Oxford English Dictionary refers to the "whyrlegyge" as far back as the 15^th century. But certainly before this word came into common usage, whirligigs had been in existence. The Chinese had pinwheels that may have traveled across Asia to arrive in Europe about the 13^th century. These spinning propellers were the inspiration for windmills and may have given a woodworker of old the idea of adding propellers to a weathervane creating the first whirligig.

View the galleries of whirligigs: