History of North Windham, Connecticut
In the northwest corner of the town, on the Natchaug river and the New
York and New England railroad, lies the post village of North Windham. It
is situated on a comparatively level step on the northwest border of the
hilly section of the town, and about four miles north of Willimantic. The
village contains some four hundred inhabitants, and its principal
institution is a manufactory of thread. This locality was formerly called
New Boston, and about the year 1810 Edmond Badger and others built a mill
here and began the manufacture of writing paper. This enterprise gave some
impetus to the growth of the village for awhile, but it was abandoned by
Badger in 1825, and after further failures to make it a success, it fell
into the hands of an Englishman named Joseph Pickering, who with great
labor and difficulty had succeeded in bringing to America the first
imported Fourdrinier machine for the manufacture of paper. He was joined
by J. A. H. Frost, of Boston, and they bought the dilapidated paper mill
at a low price, and here set up the machine which was to effect a
revolution in paper making. This firm soon became bankrupt, and their
Boston creditors attempted to carry on the business, but they were equally
unsuccessful. The Fourdrinier machine was moved to Andover, Conn., and
finally to York, Pa.
In 1831 the mill property above spoken of came into the hands of Mr.
Justin Swift, who transformed it into a cotton factory. Under his
management a successful manufacturing establishment was maintained. The
mill employed about forty hands and was a benefit to the neighborhood. On
the 16th of July, 1860, the mill took fire and was destroyed. It was
rebuilt and Mr. Swift, in the fall of 1862, leased it to the Merrick
Brothers, who converted it into a mill for the manufacture of thread in
the skein. They retained occupancy of the premises till 1572, when the
property was bought by E. H. Hall & Son, the father having been
superintendent of the mill for Merrick Brothers, and the son having been
connected with the same firm in their works at Holyoke, Mass. Since that
time the capacity of the mill has been increased about one-half, and
thirty-six feet have been added to the original length of the building.
The mill is run wholly by water, and forty hands are employed, the
manufactured product amounting to about three thousand pounds a week.
Edwin H. Hall; the senior member of this firm, was the second youngest son
of a family of thirteen children of Nathan and Philomella Hall, and he was
born in Mansfield, Conn., May 26th, 1821. He married Sophia, daughter of
Major Henry Prentice, and had five children, viz.: Luthera, wife of
Charles S. Lyman, overseer of Merrick Thread Company, of Holyoke, Mass.;
Ella M., Edwin H., Alice A., wife of P. A. Foland, agent at Boston for the
Merrick Thread "Company; and Francois P., who died in childhood. Edwin H.
was born in Willimantic, December 29th, 1847. He married Maria Ayers, a
native of South Coventry, Conn., and they had one child, Francois L., also
an adopted daughter, Nettie M. Edwin H. died December 12th, 1884.
The settlement of North Windham had, in the first half of the century, a
fulling and carding mill, owned by the Lincolns. This they afterward
transformed into a manufactory of felting used in working the Fourdrinier
machine, they having acquired the art by picking to pieces and
reconstructing the English specimens first imported. The village had
attained sufficient importance to be favored with a post office in 1838,
and Mr. Ralph Lincoln was appointed postmaster, which office he retained
for many years.
The North Windham Cemetery is a tract of land about one acre in extent,
located near the center of the village. Jonah Lincoln probably donated
ground for it. The society took charge of it for awhile, but later the
town has taken charge of it and enlarged it. It is well filled with graves
and is neatly kept. It lies on the east side of the Windham road, and on
either side of it are the institutions of the place, the church and the
school house. These buildings are white and of similar model, and not
greatly different in size. The meeting house, which stands north of the
cemetery, is a little larger in size. Each is surmounted by a belfry. The
church, cemetery and school house are about one-fourth of a mile west of
the railroad station.
The Christian Society which occupies and owns the meeting house referred
to is an undenominational society composed simply of those who contribute
to. its financial support. The object is to maintain a Christian ministry
or preaching of the Gospel regardless of denominational creeds. The
preamble and resolutions agreeing to certain broad and liberal conditions
bears date March 15th, 1830. Meetings were first held in a school house.
At the organization, Jonah Lincoln acted as moderator, and the name then
adopted was the "New Boston Christian Society," after the --name which was
held by the locality at that time. January 7th, 1857, the name was changed
by vote of the society to North Windham Christian Society." The meeting
house was built in 1844. The first members of the society, that is, those
who joined it previous to 1840, were Jonah Lincoln, Elias Sharp, Levi
Johnson, Daniel Lincoln, Jacob Flint, Ralph Lincoln, Samuel Flint, James
Lincoln, Warren Clark, Charles W. Warren, Lester Lincoln, Benjamin Perry,
Warner Lincoln, Nathaniel Lincoln, John Flint, Robert W. Robinson, Burr
Lincoln, Asa Bates, Henry Lincoln, David Lincoln, Samuel A. Lincoln,
Stowel Lincoln, Darias Spafford, Shubael Cross. George Backus, Erastus
Martin, Thomas Robinson; Rufus Burnham, Nathan Gallup, Moses Coffin,
William M. Johnson, Horace Flint, Sherman Simons, Thomas Baldwin, Schuyler
Chamberlin, Samuel Flint 2d, Moses C. Abbe, Marvin Lincoln, Nelson Simms,
James L. Brown, Philip R. Capen, Luther Burnham, William L. Dexter, John
J. Burnham, Levi Allen, Mason Lincoln, Frank M. Lincoln and Allen Lincoln.
From 1840 up to later dates, as given in the list following, other
subscribers joined the society as follows: Charles Card, Hezekiah P.
Brown, N. F. Ackley, Reuben Peck, Porter B. Peck, Charles Collar, Pearl L.
Peck, Albert Lincoln, 1847; George Lincoln, Oren F. Lincoln, Freeman D.
Spencer, Dwight F. Lincoln, 1849; Lorin Lincoln, Jared W. Lincoln, Sumner
Lincoln, Thomas T. Upton, Lucius Ingraham, Lucius Flint, Henry E. Gurley,
1853; Lucius H. Cross, Martin Flint, 1858; Edward L. Burnham, Charles
Johnson, Seymour Davenport, Joel W. Webb, 1859; Pardon Parker, Charles
Squires, Stowel Burnham, Chester Welden, 1871; Albert Hartson, Edwin H.
Hall, 1873; Charles E. Peck, Henry A. Jones, George E. Bennett, 1880;
David Nichols, Abner P. Smith, Robert Harley, C. F. Spencer, M. A. Bates,
William Sibley.
The society for many years employed regular ministers, who resided here
and performed pastoral functions. Among the early ministers were Roger
Bingham, of Windham, Harry Greenslit, of Scotland (both of whom also
preached here before the society was formally organized), Alfred Burnham,
Savage White, of Canterbury; Isaac H. Coe, Waldo Barrows, James
Burlingame, a young man by the name of Wright for a year or two, and
Sylvester Barrows for a year or two. Since about 1878 no resident pastor
has been supported, but preaching has been maintained more or less by the
employment of ministers associated with churches in the neighboring
villages as circumstances indicated, the funds of the society being placed
in the hands of a committee with discretionary power.
The mill of which previous mention has been made as having been once owned
and operated by the Lincolns in the manufacture of felting for the
Fourdrinier paper machines, stood about fifty rods below the cotton mill
of E. H. Hall & Son. The manufacture of felting belts was carried on by
Stowel Lincoln previous to the late war. These belts were endless and
seamless,. -and made to run over rollers to take up moisture from paper
pulp. Few manufactories of the kind existed in this country, and this gave
a considerable prosperity to the village. It gave employment to about
thirty hands in its prosperous days. This business, however, faded out,
and when the war introduced the " days of shoddy " the mill was changed to
a factory for making woolen cloth. This business was introduced by Stowel
Lincoln, and later the mill has passed into the hands of William Sibley.
It is only in operation now a part of the time.
Back to: Windham, Windham
County, Connecticut History
Source: History of Windham County, Connecticut,
Bayles, Richard M.; New York: W.W. Preston, 1889
Back to: Windham County, Connecticut
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