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History · Windham

Windham’s post office opened in 1818, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 30 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1800.

1818first post office
2on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Windham began

When was Windham founded?

1818

The Windham post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, South Windham (1849), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 429 in 18002020 census: 449208 years
Founding year: the first Windham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Windham’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Windham are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1820 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.Deep rootsA post office since 1818: 208 years of Windham.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Windham’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Windham’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Windham, census by census

02004006008001,00018001850190019502000931 in 1820Low: 135

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1820 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Windham’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Windham, 1818 to 1967

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818Post officeThe Windham post office opens
  3. 1820CensusPopulation peaks at 931
  4. 1849Post officeThe South Windham post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1942Post officeThe Windham post office closes
  8. 1967Post officeThe South Windham post office closes
The story

How Windham came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Windham.

Read it all →

Windham was part of Londonderry until after 1792 and was "duly organized" in 1796. The first settler of what was to become the village was Benjamin Pierce c. 1783. Pierce was from Westmoreland, New Hampshire.

Being such a small and dispersed mountain village, relatively few men from Windham served with the Union Army during the American Civil War. Windham County itself contributed heavily to manning the 4th Vermont Infantry and most of the village's sons joined Company C or K of that regiment. The regiment saw heavy combat throughout the war.

One of Windham's soldiers, Captain Charles G. Gould of Company H, 5th Vermont Infantry, won the Medal of Honor for bravery under fire.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Windham, decade by decade

Today5 recent
House in2010House inChurch in2010Church inWindham vt highlight2004Windham vt highlightWindham, Vermont Elementary School2003Windham, Vermont Elementary SchoolSchool bell in Vermont2003School bell in Vermont
On the map

Windham on the map, 1930 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Windham. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Windham on the 1930 USGS mapWindham on the 1957 USGS mapWindham on the 1984 USGS map1930Saxtons River sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Windham.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 30 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
30
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Windham Village Historic District
Windham Village Historic DistrictSouth Windham Village Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Classic Cottage2
Georgian1
Neo-Colonial1
Gothic1
Federal1
Windham Village Historic DistrictGreek Revival
South Windham Village Historic DistrictFederal

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Windham

Nobody well known was born in Windham itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
D
Donald J. CramAmerican chemist · b. 1919
Nettie StevensAmerican geneticist · b. 1861
Albert GuttersonAthletics competitor · b. 1887
Florence LeeAmerican actress · b. 1888
Alphonso TaftAmerican diplomat · b. 1810
G
Glover Morrill AllenU.S. zoologist · b. 1879
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Windham had its own post office from 1818 to 1942. Another post office, South Windham, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Windham
1818–1942
South Windham
1849–1967
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
South Windham
Gone or out of use
Burbees MilllocaleNorth Windham Airportairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Windham
North WindhamWest WindhamWindham CenterWoodburn

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Londonderry2 historic placesA+Grafton11 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTownshend8 historic placesAChester6 historic placesA+JamaicaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAndover1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Windham’s history

What year was Windham founded?

The Windham post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Windham?

Two places: the Windham Village Historic District (listed 1984) and the South Windham Village Historic District (1988).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.