100 YEARS AGO IN WINDHAM

FAIRVIEW TABLET UNVEILED, LABOR DAY 1916

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.”

Brookside Farm

The front porch was a favorite gathering spot at Brookside Farm

Brookside Farm

Circa. 1904-1946

     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.

Cemetery on the Plain – 1910

This is an interesting view of the Cemetery on the Plain taken about 1910. It took me a minute to place it. The photograph was taken from Lowell Road, near where Wayne Holm lives today. What is so amazing is the lack of trees. Collins Brook marsh is in the foreground and Garaphelia Park is to the right in front of the stone wall. It’s an interesting site for a cemetery but was most probably chosen because the sandy soil allowed for easy digging of the graves.

Letter From Windham, New Hampshire to Bellevue, Kentucky

Jerimiah Morrison was born in Windham NH on April 20, 1795. According to L.A. Morrison, “He succeeded his father on the homestead, where he always lived. He was a person of good judgement….He was among the earliest to espouse the anti-slavery cause, and at a time when it was not popular.”  He died of heart disease, in Windham, on November 24, 1862.

Silas Dinsmoor fitted for college at Williams Academy, in Windham and went on to graduate from Dartmouth College, in the class of 1787. He was appointed by President George Washington to be the U.S. agent to the Cherokee Indians in 1795. After serving in various capacities for the federal government, he moved to Bellevue, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, to where this letter is addressed. He died and is buried on the “Dinsmore Homestead,” which was owned by his nephew James.

Above: The James Dinsmore Homestead, in Kentucky, where Silas Dinsmoor is buried. It is a museum today.

Silas Dinsmoor

Bellevue, Boone County Kentucky

Windham, January 15th 1842

Dear Sir,

It becomes my painful duty to communicate to you the sad intelligence of the death of your Cousin John Dinsmoor. You have been apprised of the death of his wife. Since which he has boarded in a respectable family in the neighborhood; his health continued pretty good until September last. Since which time, he’s declined. About a week before his death, he was seized with influenza attended with lung fever which terminated his earthly existence on Tuesday the 11th January, at three o’clock P.M. His suffering had been very severe for several days but was very much relieved the last three days he lived and hopes were… by his physician and friends up to the moment of his death that his health might be partially restored and he enjoy comfortable health for some time. Providence saw best that it should be otherwise. He died suddenly without any apparent alteration to the very moment of his death and without a moan or struggle. Thus our friends pass away one after another. This aged uncle is the last member of that ancient family in this place excepting Mary park who still survives and is not enjoying good health— I have written this at a request of his, signified to me, before his decease.  And I have written with more freedom and greater pleasure from my personal knowledge of you as a friend of my parents. Although you may have forgotten me and most of your younger friends in this place, yet be assured that you are still held in respectful remembrance by many here. And although we may not hope to see you here again yet we would be very glad to receive a letter from you once in a while. We would be gratified to here from brother John’s family those of them in your region. James & Silas I believe are in your neighborhood— I will now introduce myself as a son of Samuel Morrison and Margaret Dinsmoor and say that I would be very much gratified to receive a letter from you. Direct to your obedient servant Jeremiah Morrison.

John Dinsmoor’s house in Windham is still standing on Range Road

The John Dinsmoor in the letter, was born in Windham in 1761. He married Isabella Hemphill in 1791.  He settled on the north part of his father’s farm where he was a blacksmith. Morrison says, “He was industrious and built himself a good house and barn, as well as blacksmith’s shop. But his farm was poor; and whether the shop took up so much of his time as to spoil his farming, or the latter occupation so engaged him as to ruin his business as a smith, or whether the intrinsic poverty of soil is enough to account for the fact that, it is certain that he failed at both occupations and about 1827, was obliged to sell his place. He then moved to the farm of Isaac Thom in Windham Range; this place is now (1882) occupied and owned by his grandson, Joseph W. Dinsmoor. Having profited from past experience, or owing to more productive soil, although he had passed the prime of life, he was successful at his new work, and soon became the owner of the farm. He was a man of decided convictions and unyielding opinions. Late in life, when perhaps his disposition had somewhat soured by his reverses of fortune, he was inclined to be morose and to look on the dark side of the picture. His wife was happily of the opposite turn of mind. Always genial and companionable, making the best of everything, by pleasantly agreeing with her husband in his sharp and often very just criticisms of men and things, he owed it to her that the thought was but momentary, which with opposition would have become chronic…His son John, their only child in the State, resided near him, and was drowned in Cobbett’s Pond in November of 1834. Thus they were left childless, as it were, in their old age. In January 1840, his wife, with whom he had lived in most endearing companionship died of paralysis. She had retired to rest at night, in her usual good health, but in the night her husband awoke and found she had lost the power of speech. And it never returned. Her death was a great shock to him, and broke up his home. He passed the remainder of his days in the family of his neighbor, Ebenezer T. Abbott, one of a family whose name is a synonym for humanities that cheer and relieve distress.” His other two sons, Nathaniel and William had removed to New York. Silas Dinsmoor died, July 17, 1847.

Roll of Honor | School-house No. 2 | Windham NH

School-house No. 2 about 1910

The hand-made award shown to the left was a “Roll of Honor” for the Spring of 1913. The Roll of Honor was for the students at the Number 2 District which was the one room school-house that once stood on a knoll, on Range Road, between Cobbett’s Pond Road and Golden Brook Road. The photograph above was taken right around the same date and the photograph has noted that the Number 2 School was also know as the “Elm Grove” School. So who was on the Roll of Honor for 1913. The list of names are as follows:

Elsie M. Ackerman

Ethel M. Hawley

Ardell M. Messenger

Maurice Ackerman

Clinton Messenger

Ray M. Messenger

Frank A. Hawley

Harry Wood…

—illegible—

100 YEARS AGO IN WINDHAM

“WINDHAM, MAY 24, 1916: The talk of the town for some days has been the bold robbery by light-fingered gentry on Saturday afternoon at the store of Frank H. Nichols at Canobie Lake station. As we hear the story, three automobiles filled with gypsies—men, women and children—stopped at the store and while the men were being supplied with gasoline by Mr. Nichols they abstracted $200 from a purse in his pocket, leaving some checks untouched. The loss was discovered after the departure of the gang, and they were followed and with officers from Lawrence overtaken and arrested at Andover. The gypsies paid over the stolen money and costs, and were allowed to depart.”

Community Beach

Very Early Picture of Community Beach. Gerrish Littlefield’s Cottage.

Buy Enough Vegetables, Coffee or Tea and own a Place on Cobbett’s Pond.

In 1929, some 60 acres of land off Ministerial Road was divided into 975 lots with a beach and a playground. The waterfront lots cost $50, and the back lots were $20. The Great Depression hit, and the lots were slow to sell.

The developer began a promotional deal in the Malden-Medford area where grocery stores redeemed coupons for a lot after a set amount of coffee, tea or canned goods were purchased. Gerrish Littlefield’s cottage was built in Community Beach in October of 1930 after he redeemed “Hatchet” brand coupons in Malden. Most of the photographs are from Carolyn Webber.