This nice view of Windham Depot shows the crossing gates and crossing guard’s shack. The large brick chimney in the background is part of Seavey’s Mill where massive amounts of apple cider was churned out every year. It was also a large lumber mill.
WINDHAM. AUGUST 23.—On the afternoon of Labor Day there will be unveiled with public exercises at Fairview on Cobbett’s North Shore, a tablet commemorating the fact that the pond took its name from Rev. Thomas Cobbet, of Ipswich, Mass., who in 1662 received a grant of 500 acres on its shores. A historical sketch will be read, dealing with Mr. Cobbet, his grant, and other matters of history.
WINDHAM, SEPTEMBER 6.—On the afternoon of Labor Daya company of 80 or more gathered at Fairview on Cobbett’s North Shore for the exercises connected with the unveiling of a memorial tablet. There was singing, in which Raymond Kay, of New York, and L. Willard Park, of Boston, assisted, prayer by Rev. A.L. Dunton, remarks by L.W. Smith, representing the Haverhill, Mass. Historical Society, and a lengthy historical address by William S. Harris, dealing with Rev. Thomas Cobbet, his grant of land, names of the pond, and other matters of local history. Kendall Parker Abbott, the five year old son of the Fairview household, performed the act of unveiling the tablet, and Miss Eleanor K. Abbott read the inscription thereon, which is as follows:
COBBETT’S POND So called, but with various spellings, Since 1723. Named for Rev. Thomas Cobbet, Puritan minister of Lynn and Ipswich, Mass., Who received from the General Court of Mass., A grant of 500 acres on its north shore in 1662. “There Windham Range, in flowery vest, Was seen in robes of green, While Cobbet’s Pond, from east to west, Spread her bright waves between. ROBERT DINSMOOR. 1811.”
The front porch was a favorite gathering spot at Brookside Farm
A very nice couple stopped by to see me, in order to ask about a farm in Windham that their family once owned. They allowed me to make copies of their photographs so I could try to determine the location of the farm. The “Brookside” sign over the door and noted on a photograph solved the mystery. This is a beautiful photograph of what people now know as the “Fellows” house, which once stood at the corner of North Lowell Road and Route 111, and was torn down a few years ago. Sadly, I misplaced the notes I took about the photographs. I am not sure whether the people in the photographs are Lang Family or the Knowlton Family. Walter and Carolyn Lang bought the property from George Seavey in 1904 for 3,200 dollars. The property was left to their heirs, Walter W. Lang , Elmer Lang and George Lang of Boston, John Lang of Saugus and Harold Lang of Pittsburg, PA. Perley G. and H. Elizabeth Knowlton purchased the property from them in 1936, subsequently selling to the Fellows in 1946. One of the photographs in the group is a cyanotype (blue) and all the Cyanotype photographs in Windham that I’ve seen were taken about 1910. So my best guess is that the folks in the photographs are the Langs. What is certain is that these people really enjoyed that porch, overlooking their rolling fields and Collins Brook.
Windham NH History 