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| The town of Windham is located in this county, Cumberland County, about 15 miles northwest of Maine's largest city, Portland. It's a narrow town is about 12 miles long and 3 miles wide.
The Presumpscot River makes Windham's western boundary. Windham is bordered by the towns of Raymond, Gray, Falmouth, Westbrook, Gorham, Cumberland and Standish.
Windham was founded in 1737 and was first settled by Thomas Chute and William Mayberry of Marblehead, Massachusetts. It was known as New Marblehead and was governed by Massachusetts. New Marblehead had 63 lots. The first lot is located on the River Road and is marked with a granite marker.
On June 12, 1762 the people of New Marblehead were granted a petition by the great court of Massachusetts for a charter of incorporation as a town. On that date, Windham was born and New Marblehead was no longer its name. Windham became Maine's 16th town. The first town meeting was held on July 5, 1762 in the Old Province Fort. By 1800, Windham was growing and had 1400 inhabitants. The original town office, located in Windham Center, was built in 1833.
Windham began as a farming community, but soon developed into a manufacturing center. The Presumpscot River provided manufacturing power at Mallison Falls, Little Falls, Gambo Falls, and Great Falls.
The first saw mill was completed in 1740 at Mallison Falls. An attempt was made to build a grist mill near the saw mill in 1743, but the Indians interfered.
A cotton mill that manufactured sheets was built in 1823. Both the saw mill and the cotton mill were destroyed by fire.
In 1817, a Powder gun mill was built at Gambo Falls (now Newhall) on the Gorham side of the river.
Great Falls (North Gorham Power Plant) was a prosperous manufacturing village.
By the end of the 1800's, South Windham had become an industrial center with its waterfalls on the Presumpscot providing power to a woolen mill, sawmills, a gunpowder mill, a cotton mill, grain mills, pulp mills, and a box factory. Both the railroad and the Cumberland-Oxford Canal provided transportation and outlets for the products manufactured here. |
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