This mill is an octagonal smock mill with a gallery and was build in 1655-1656, with major restoration operation in 1955.
It's the highest mill of the Zaan district and was never moved.

Zaandijk's citizens have traditionally and literally - at least since 1656 - lived between life and death. That is between the mills "Het Leven" (Life) and "De Bleeke Dood" (Death / The Pale Death). The mill "Het Leven" was a drainage mill in the northern most tip of the village that saw service between 1633 and 1904. Mill "De Bleeke Dood" was a flour mill in the south of the village.