Spring 2016 Windham Historical Society Newsletter

Windham Historical Society
Town Hall 1833
Spring
2016
In this Edition:
Article: 3rd Maine
Page 1 and History:
Page 2
Village Green Project
Page 1 And 2
Presidents Letter:
Page 3
Manchester: Page 3
Curator’s: Page 3
Windham Then and
Now: Page 4
Uncle Tom’s Cabin:
Page 4
Around the Society:
Page 5 and Page 7
Programs and
Calendar: Page 6
Article, It’s Spring:
Page 6
Membership News:
Page 7
The Underground
Railroad: Page 7
Supporters: Page 8
The Windham Historical Society is proud to announce the return of the 3rd Maine Infantry
volunteers to our Village Green for the third time in five years. The 3rd Maine will be
encamped on the “Green” during the Town’s Summerfest Weekend, June 24-25. This will
be a great opportunity for Society members and the public to step back into history and
have an emersion experience into the camp life of a Civil War infantryman. Specific
scheduling is not yet available, but if this year is anything like previous years, there will be
a variety of demonstrations from camp life, sick call, drills, sanitation inspections, and
musket fire. Word from Dave Gowen, 3rd Maine coordinator for this event, indicated that
the 3rd Maine muster this year will be a simulation of the 1861 muster of new recruits.
The public will be invited to join the ranks on Sunday afternoon for drill practice. Page 2
is a brief history of the 3rd Maine through to the infamous battle at Gettysburg. (Windham
Historical Society File Photo) Dave Tanguay
Dave Tanguay
Village Green to Move Buildings:
This year, the Society is slated to move two
buildings onto foundations on the Village
Green. Dave Douglas is currently
designing the addition and engineered
foundation to the yellow South Windham
Library. Once moved, the Library building
will reflect its South Windham Village past
with artifacts from the “Village Library,”
the Old Railroad Station, and artifacts from
the hose house and other items from the
South Windham Fire Department. The
second foundation to be placed will be for
the Old Hawks’ Grocery. It is anticipated
that the building will be moved in late
summer, funding permitting.
Society members Dave Tanguay and Jim
Hansom had a meeting with Architect,
Dave Douglas; Town Code Enforcement
Officer, Heather McNally; Fire Chief
Libby and Assistant Fire Chief Wescott to
discuss the Village Green Plans. (Cont.
Page 2)
Spring 2016
Editor: Haley Pal,
[email protected]
Assistant
Editor/Layout/Writer:
Dave Tanguay,
[email protected]
Writer: Kay Soldier,
[email protected]
Advertising/Writer:
Sue Simonson,
[email protected]
Page 2
3rd Maine: (cont.) “A Brief History of the 3rd Maine: On June 4, 1861, the Bath City Grays, one of
the more active Maine militia units, was mustered into federal service as part of the 3rd Maine Infantry
Regiment. They formed all of Company A and most of Company D. The majority of the men were
tradesmen, shipwrights, shopkeepers, and artisans, while the rest of the unit came from towns up and
down the Kennebec River--Gardiner, Hallowell, Augusta, Winthrop, Waterville, Winslow, and
Skowhegan.
The unit encamped on the grounds of Capitol Park, directly in front of the Maine State House and
overlooking the Kennebec River. The Regiment was commanded by Colonel Oliver O. Howard from
Leeds, Maine, who went on to serve as a general during the war. Howard was the head of the
Freedmen's Bureau after the war. (Howard University is named after him.)
The 3rd Maine first "saw the elephant" (a Civil War term meaning one's first time in battle) at the first
battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, and during the next three years was engaged in 25 major battles,
including the Peninsular Campaign, Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg,
the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. There were many smaller skirmishes as well, and by June of 1864,
the greatly reduced 3rd Maine found most of its men had served their three years. Sixty-four of the
original men re-enlisted and they, along with the replacement recruits, were transferred to the 17th
Maine at Cold Harbor just before the awful slaughter there. When the 17th Maine Infantry mustered
out of service on June 10, 1865, several veterans of the original 3rd Maine had served four years and
one week
The 3rd Maine experienced what was probably its most difficult day on the morning of July 2, 1863.
One hundred ninety-six enlisted men and 14 officers reported for duty with the Regiment, which was
positioned near the left of the Union line running south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. (About 1.000 men
had left Maine with the Regiment in the summer of 1861.) Ordered to reconnoiter the Confederate
positions in front of the Third Corps, the 3rd Maine, along with about 100 Berdan Sharpshooters,
encountered and skirmished with Confederates in Pitzer's Woods during the morning. Several 3rd
Maine men were killed or wounded. Later that day, after Third Corps commander General Daniel
Sickles ordered the entire corps to move forward and take an unsupported position well in front of the
main Union line, the 3rd Maine found itself, along with three other regiments from different brigades,
in an exposed line of battle near the Peach Orchard.
In the fight with attacking Confederates of General James Longstreet's corps which soon followed, the
men of the 3rd Maine fought desperately and were nearly surrounded before they were forced to give
ground. The entire color guard company, Company K, many of whom came from Leeds, was killed or
captured. The 3rd Maine, along with the other regiments in the vicinity of the Peach Orchard and
Wheat Field, helped to delay the Confederate advance and buy time for the Union Army to reinforce its
left flank and defeat the attack. That evening 97 3rd Maine men were present to answer the roll call.”
http://thirdmaine.org/
If you missed them during earlier visits, make a point of seeing them this June
while we still have room on the Green for their encampment
Village Green: (cont. from page 1) The significant result of this meeting was the
agreement on the security and safety needs for each of the proposed buildings to be placed
on the Green. This agreement allows the Society to move forward with the next four
buildings knowing that by meeting specific fire code and adaptability codes the buildings can
be moved and placed. Each building with have: security lighting, fire exit signs, fire
extinguishers, and be adapted for handicapped accessibility with ramps, etc.
With the opening of the One-Room Schoolhouse, and placement of the South Windham
Library (museum), the “Old Hawk’s Grocery” (museum), and the Windham Center Library,
the “Village Green” will take on the characteristics of a Village and brings the Society closer
to being a destination. Dave Tanguay
Spring 2016
Dear Friends and Members,
Let’s make 2016 a year to remember! We have gotten
through an “easy” winter and are now ready to tackle the
challenge of creating the Village Green! There’s much to be
done in the upcoming months and we’ll look to our members
for support as things begin moving forward. We are full of
ideas, but need money and manpower (or women power) to
carry them out.
All of the programs provided by the Windham Historical
Society are interesting, but our March program, When Maine
Burned, about the 1947 fire and presented by storyteller Jo
Radner, was particularly well attended. We filled the parking
lot and Windham Library meeting room with enthusiastic
individuals interested in hearing about this historic event that
took place right in our backyard. Barry Atwood of North
Gorham brought in Portland Press Herald newspapers with
front page stories about the fire that devastated Maine.
Member Dave Tobin wrote of his memories of getting
released from Windham High School to fight the fires in
neighboring towns. If you have stories about the fire that you
can share with the Society, please let us know.
Dave Tanguay is putting the finishing touches on the Village
Green One-Room Schoolhouse and getting it ready for its
inaugural class and grand opening in May. Sabrina
Nickerson’s students from Manchester School will be the first
to have a lesson taught to them in the new building. We would
like to extend our thanks to the third graders at Windham
Primary School for raising $700 that will go towards
McGuffey readers for future lessons. The fifth grade students
at Manchester are presently raising funds to donate to the
school as well. We’re glad to know that young people in our
community are so interested in history.
I myself attended a one-room schoolhouse on Mighty Street
in Gorham back in 1953. There were four grades and we
brought our lunches each day. In winter, we heated tomato
soup and baked potatoes on the large pot belly wood stove in
the middle of the room. Water was brought in from a well, but
we each had our own drinking cup. There were his and her
outhouses in the back of the class and three of us, who were
second graders, spent many hours sitting on the floor in the
outhouse cutting out pictures of birds, trees, and flowers from
a large pile of magazines to make booklets about each state in
the US and the countries in Europe. I remember that it was fun
to get our work done quickly so we could listen to what was
being taught to older classes! Did you attend a one-room
schoolhouse? If so, please write down your memories, or we
can come and do an interview with you to hear your
recollections.
Our craft ladies (Norma Rogers, Izzy Gilman, Sue Simonson,
and Carolyn and Linda Tetrault) have retired from creating the
hugely successful Old-Fashioned Christmas Craft Fair and
they all deserve a big THANK YOU from all our members!!
The fair was our most successful fundraiser each year, adding
over $5,000 annually to our goals. Thank you, ladies, for all
the beautiful one-of-a-kind gifts you have created over the
years!
Page 3
Elaine and Don Dickenson of Windham have donated a
beautiful Victorian bedroom set and Flora Woodside gave us a
lovely painted bedroom set last fall that the family of Persis
Harding (my third grade teacher in Gorham) who lived on
Hall Road in Windham, had used and given to Flora’s mother
years ago. Thank you for the generous donations.
Linda Griffin, President
Manchester School Class Raises Funds in
Support of Society’s One-Room Schoolhouse.
Back in the days when paper was expensive or scarce, scholars used
slates to answer questions or solve arithmetic problems. Chalk or wax
pencils were the pencils of the day. These are just a few of the items
needed to operate the Windham Historical Society’s One-Room
Schoolhouse on the Village Green, “slated” to open in May.
Schoolhouse organizers were approached by Sabrina Nickerson’s fifth
grade class at Manchester School last fall with an offer to raise funds
for the project. School liaison volunteers Walter Lunt and Carol
Manchester visited the class in January to share pictures and stories of
19th century schools in Windham. As part of Manchester School’s
annual community fundraising activity known as Community Day,
Nickerson’s class expressed an interest in contributing money for
slates to be used by visiting students learning about one-room
schoolhouses. Pennies are now being collected in an effort known as
“cents-for-slates.” The school has invited members of the Society’s
Board of Directors to participate in Community Day in April where
they will accept a check from Nickerson’s class .In late May, the fifth
graders have been invited to be the inaugural elementary class to
participate in a 19th century school experience at the Society’s OneRoom Schoolhouse near the Town House Museum on Windham
Center Road.
Curators Corner: Penny Laura
Accessions have been arriving at a steady
pace. We have been given a CD with photos of
the demolition of the Week’s house by
Michelle Libby, editor of the Windham Eagle;
Windham School ephemera from Eileen
WestonCyr
Cyr from
fromHermon,
Hermon,Maine;
Maine; furniture,
furniture, including a four-drawer
Weston
including
a four-drawer
pine
dresser; aaccent
uniquetable; a green desk,
pine
dresser;
a unique pine
rectangular
pine
rectangular
accent
table;
a
green
desk,
probably for a child; a pine drop leaf table; a plank bottom chair; two
probably
for akegs;
child;a amilk
pinecan
drop
leafOakhurst
table; a Dairy, all donated by
small
wooden
from
plank
bottom
chair;
two
small
wooden
kegs; a
Donna Beth Rudolph.
milk can from Oakhurst Dairy, all donated by
Donna
Beth Rudolph.
Sue
Pascarella,
a local Windham resident, donated a carriage lantern,
numerous porcelain tea pots, sugar bowls, cups, and saucers, and also a
Sue Pascarella,
local Windham
resident,cup, and a tin camp stove.
hurricane
lamp, aa large
copper measuring
donatedBaiar
a carriage
lantern,
numerous porcelain
Ursula
brought
in a ladder-back
chair.
tea pots, sugar bowls, cups, and saucers and
also aManchester
hurricane lamp,
largebeen
copper
Carol
and Iahave
sorting through Moses Little Papers.
measuring
cup,
and
a
tin
camp
stove.had
Ursula
During the early 1800s, Moses Little
in his possession numerous
Baiar
brought
in
a
ladder-back
chair.
legal documents including writs of summons, complaints, and arrest
warrants, as well as a few deeds. This requires careful handling, as
Carol
Manchester
I have
these
fragile
documentsand
are 200
yearsbeen
old! My current project is to sort
through
index Captain
sortingand
through
MosesAlmon
Little Varney’s
Papers.Civil War muster records.
During the early 1800s, Moses Little
Spring 2016
Page 4
Windham
Then and Now
“The Bean Hole”
There’s been a restaurant at this corner of Windham for 90 years.
Lowell’s Tea Room, also known as Bean Hole Beans (so called because of the bean hole where beans were baked) operated from 1926 to
1947. It later became Kilgore’s Restaurant. Arthur Kilgore sold the restaurant at the corner of Route 302, right across from the White’s
Bridge Road, to “Red” and Sandy Donnelly in 1971. Taking their first names, it became Red Sands Restaurant and was probably the most
popular restaurant in Windham for decades. In 1993, their son Bob took over the Red Sands. Most recently, it was Thatcher’s, operated
by the late Dave Garry. Today, Franco’s Bistro is located here, providing delicious meals to residents and visitors alike.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin: By Kay Soldier
When someone is demolishing a house in town, they sometimes call the Windham Historical Society and tell us of something they
have found in the walls or attic. Often the “treasure” is saved for the Society, who will do the research and then share the find with
the public.
In the April 29, 1980 edition of the Courier Free Press (Windham, Maine), an article told of just such a discovery.
A local businessman, Fred Haskell, owned a building on Route 302, next to the Dairy Queen site at Boody’s Corner (intersection of
Routes 302 & 115). This building, the former post office, was being torn down and a wall full of colorful posters advertising a
performance of Uncle Tom’s Cabin was uncovered. Haskell saved these unusual “boards” and donated them to the Historical Society.
It was estimated that the posters were put up in either 1884 or 1904. They had been on those walls for nearly 100 years and some of
the script was quite faded.
The billboards advertised “Witherell and Davies majestic revival of the famous, moral, and picturesque drama of Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
“…an unrivalled success,” which was to be performed at a “mammoth pavilion opera house.”
Between 1852 and 1900, it’s estimated that a million copies of the book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, were sold. Next to the Bible, it was the
bestselling book following the Civil War. The play, based on the story by Maine author Harriet Beecher Stowe, was performed more
often in America than any other production. During the 1880s, there were up to 500 “Tom Shows” on the road across the country. Just
where the production advertised in Windham was being performed is not known, however, the fact that it was advertised here shows
how popular and well known the show was. Many of these “Tom” shows were minstrel shows. (cont. page 6)
Spring d2016
Page 5
Around the Society
Got plants? We Can Use Them!
Now that spring is really here and the snow is melted, have you discovered
your garden is overrun with irises, lilies, chives, mint, or oregano? Do you
have plants that need to be divided or that are cluttering up your garden?
Don’t throw them away!
The Windham Historical Society is holding its Annual Spring Plant and
Garden Sale on Saturday, June 4th from 9 am to 2 pm and we are seeking any
interesting plantings that you might generously donate to the Society for sale
this year.
Some perennial favorites that are sure to be on hand include daylilies, hosta,
phlox, and culinary herbs. If you have some beautiful favorites of your own
that you’d like to share with the Society, please bring them to us to be used as
part of our sale. This Annual Plant Sale is a major fundraiser for the Society
and your help is much needed and most appreciated.
Genealogy Corner
Recent inquiries via the website have included the following:
If you have
extra–plants,
like to volunteer
at/for
the plant
call the
LIBBY,
ISAAC
seekingwould
information
on this early
resident,
bothsale,
“senior”
and “junior” who lived in East Windham;
Society
at
892-1433,
email:
[email protected].
TRIPP, STEPHEN – and wife Rosa Sawyer. He was a Revolutionary War soldier; MANCHESTER, EVA who was
adopted by a family in Canada; HAWKES, MARY ANN, who married a SAWYER, Seeking photo, proof of birth
(Ebenezer Hawkes and Dorcas Cobb).
If anyone has information on the above, please contact Kay Soldier, [email protected] or [email protected].
Membership News
The Society would like to welcome our new members, Lloyd Gilman, Lynne A. Jones, Captain and Mrs.
Philip D. Spiller Jr, and Reggie and Tammy Butts. Welcome aboard!
Condolences
To Nancy Bowden and family on the death of her mother, Ella F. Young, who passed away March 20, 2016.
To Walter and Linda Lunt and families on the death of his mother, E, May Lunt, who passed away on February 19,
2016.
Help Wanted
An outgoing volunteer to be a schoolmaster or schoolmarm to groups
of elementary students visiting the soon-to-be One-Room Schoolhouse.
Training and support provided. Contact Walter Lunt at 655-3421 or
[email protected]
Spring 2016
It’s Spring – A Time of
New Beginnings at the
Windham Historical
Society
Winter and its doldrums are past us
and now it’s time to look ahead to a
new season and new beginnings. Many
new things are happening here at the
Windham Historical Society:
The Society Headquarters building is
now heated. Dave’s World in
Windham has installed two large heat
pumps which will be used to heat the
entire first floor of the building in the
winter months. This means the Society
can expand hours and can be
accessible to the public year-round.
The Village Green will officially open
this spring when the One-Room
Schoolhouse opens its doors. Sabrina
Nickerson’s class from Manchester
School will be the “inaugural” class
for the Schoolhouse Open House to be
held on Friday, May 20. Students will
receive a lesson, eat lunches they bring
along, have recess, and then will be
taught a second lesson in the
afternoon.
In addition, the Society has a new
membership brochure to send out
to prospective members. This fourcolor promotional brochure was
designed by Windham resident,
Linda Spring Mycock, a
professional graphic designer. The
Society would like to thank Linda
for donating her time and for
working with Haley Pal to put this
impressive piece together.
There are many wonderful
activities and events scheduled for
the spring season. This newsletter
will give you a look at some of
them and we hope encourage you
to attend and to have fun with
history.
Right: New Promotional Brochure
designed by Linda Spring Mycock
Page 6
Society Spring Calendar 2016
Society Building Open for the Season, Tuesday, April
26. Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 10 to
Noon or by appointment. Expanded Summer Hours
to be determined Call 892-1433.
APRIL
4, Monday, Special Board Meeting: WHS Building, 6:30 PM
5, Tuesday: Town Council Workshop Presentation, Village Green, 7:30 PM
18, Monday: Program: Westbrook, Windham, Naples Trolley, Society
Building, 7:30 PM (Membership Meeting, 7 PM, before program)
24, Sunday: One-Woman Quilt Show, Friends Meeting Hall, 1 to 5 PM
26, Tuesday: Windham Historical Society Building opens for the season,
10 AM to Noon
MAY:
3, Tuesday, Board Meeting: WHS Building, 6:30 PM, Society Building
14, Saturday, Program: One-Room Schoolhouses in Windham, followed by
tour of Village Green Schoolhouse, 10AM to Noon
20, Friday, Village Green Schoolhouse Inaugural 5th Grade Class, Time TBD
JUNE:
7, Tuesday, Board Meeting: WHS Building, 6:30 PM
25-26, Saturday, Sunday, 3rd Maine Civil War Infantry Company A,
Village Green
25, Saturday, 3rd Maine in Summerfest Parade
JULY:
5, Tuesday, Board Meeting: WHS Building, 6:30 PM
18, Monday, Program: Let There be Light, A History of Lanterns, WHS
Building, 7:30 PM (Membership Meeting, 7 PM, before program)
AUGUST
2, Tuesday, Board Meeting: WHS 6:30 PM
22, Monday, Program: Steamboats of Sebago, Windham Veterans Center,
7 PM
Uncle Tom (cont.) The wallboards on which
the posters were affixed were catalogued into
the archives of the Society, and put in the
only space available for storage – the attic at
the circa 1830 brick Society building to await
restoration, where they remain today
Spring 2016
Page 7
Meet the New Volunteer Coordinator
Page 7
The Society has a new Volunteer Coordinator. Please welcome Sue Graham as she takes the reins of this vital
part of the Society. Sue will be actively seeking volunteers to help with ongoing Society projects, such as
gardening, housekeeping, baking, fundraising, and construction work.
Sue was born in Connecticut and grew up in Massachusetts. Her father was originally from Maine and moved
back to the state to reside on the Haskell Family farm in Deer Isle. Sue’s sister later moved to Maine as well, as
did Sue herself about 10 years ago, to help care for her aging parents.
Sue is recently retired, but has held many accounting positions over the years, and most recently was employed
by Walmart in Windham. Sue has always had a fascination for history and the lives of our ancestors. She joined
the Windham Historical Society to help make the Village Green a reality and give today’s young people an
accurate look at Windham’s past. If you’d like to help in that effort, please contact Sue at 894-5022 or by email
at [email protected].
The Underground Railroad: The Windham Connection
By Kay Soldier and Haley Pal
The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad. It got its name because its activities had to be
carried out in secret and those involved with the system used railroad terms to describe how that system worked.
Various routes were lines, stopping at places called stations. Those who aided along the way were conductors and their
charges were known as packages or freight.
This vast network of people who helped fugitive slaves escape to the north and Canada, was not run by a single person
or organization. It consisted of many individuals, several white, but predominantly black, who effectively moved
hundreds of slaves northward each year. One estimate is that 100,000 slaves escaped to freedom between 1810 and
1850.
A religious group called the Quakers (or Society of Friends) was very involved in the Underground Railroad. Many
runaway slaves who were trying to get to Canada came through Maine. In Windham, there was a good-sized settlement
of Quakers, and some of them hid runaways in their homes, barns, or in the orchards for a day at a time until they
moved on to another safe place on their way to Canada. Travel was often by river, and Maine has plenty of them.
The first family that settled in the “Quaker” area of Windham was the Pope family, and so the settlement became known
as Popeville. In the early 1900s, an elderly woman named Phoebe Pope was interviewed by a Portland newspaper and
told what she remembered about the Underground Railroad. The house where she lived is still standing, a two-story
brick house on Pope Road. Phoebe Pope recalled that runaway slaves were hidden in the orchard there. There is a copy
of the newspaper article in the archives of the Windham Historical Society.
Slavery was legal in the days before the Civil War. People who helped hide runaway slaves were going against the law
and could be fined thousands of dollars for breaking it. But many people believed slavery was wrong and should be
abolished. These people, called abolitionists, continued to help despite the consequences.
There are quite a few houses in Windham that are said to have secret rooms in their cellars which might have been used
to hide runaway slaves. This is very difficult to prove, and to date, Phoebe Pope’s reminiscences are the only definite
record.
Business Partners who support the Windham Historical Society and this Newsletter:
David Douglass AIA
Maine and NH Licensed Architect
101 Whites Bridge Road
Windham, Me 04062
207.807.6661
Windham Historical Society
PO Box 1475
Windham, Maine 04062
234 Windham Center Road
207 892-1433