This photograph from 1930 shows the “Junction” of the Manchester and Lawrence line with the Nashua and Rochester line. Once the Nashua and Rochester line was discontinued the “Junction” became known as the “Depot.” The station house, now located on the Rail Trail looks much like it did in 1930.
The Boston and Maine Railroad Station at Windham Junction circa 1930
There was a time in New Hampshire, in the late 1800’s, when the state government was controlled and did the bidding of the Boston and Maine Railroad. They picked the candidates and dictated many of the important decisions. By 1930, when this photograph was taken, the glory days of the B & M Railroad were long over. Describing the “Depot” about that time, Richard Hoisington says in the B&M Bulletin that, “In 1927, the general store and its attached buildings were destroyed in a spectacular fire that threatened other buildings in the junction area. After the fire, Postmaster Clyde began selling groceries and before long he installed gasoline pumps as well. Although his store inventory was limited, it is said that ‘if he didn’t stock it, he could get it for you.’ Clyde was postmaster until 1945 when the store was closed and eventually torn down in 1965. Effective September 14, 1935, the Windham station agency was closed and the sale of tickets discontinued. The few passengers who wished to entrain at Windham could buy their tickets from the conductor. Passenger service on the Manchester and Lawrence Branch was reduced to a single round trip daily prior to World War II. Weekday trains consisted of a gas-electric car and a trailer. A K-7 Consolidation powered Sunday trains. The last scheduled passenger train, NO. 1511, consisting of gas-electric No. 182, was operated July 10, 1953 by conductor Harold Leavitt, Engineer John Bryant and Baggageman, Bernard Walls.”
Anderson Station was located in West Windham. It was originally built in conjunction with the Nashua & Rochester Railroad. Trains started running in 1874. This WN&R Railroad line was sold to the Boston and Maine Railroad June 1911. This picture is a witness to the coming end of the line. The last train, No 827, was operated by conductor Howard Andrews and Engineer Henry Bliss on March 3, 1934. The station was named for William Anderson a notable West Windham resident.
I’ve had this old glass plate negative hanging around and I finally got around to scanning it and adjusting the exposure to see what I had. I knew it was a dam but not where. At first, I thought it was the dam at Cobbett’s Pond, but there are differences that ruled it out. Eventually, a photograph by Baldwin Coolidge solved the mystery. His photograph of the mill on Golden Brook Road, clearly shows the dam. Of course, the same people who built this dam, would have also built the dam on Cobbett’s Pond, since they owned the water from the lake which was used to power the mill. The only unsolved mystery now; who is the gentleman standing by the sluiceway?
Windham NH History 