History of the Society :
The Windham Historical Society was founded in the fall
of 2002. It began with 49 Charter members, each paying $ 50 to join.
We also have 2 honorary Charter members, who are the great-great-great
granddaughters of Col. Benjamin and Sara (Sally) Higley, one of the
founding families of this community in 1811. First meetings were held
at the Windham branch of the Portage County District Library until June
of 2003, when at that time the Congregational Church of Christ of Windham
which owns the Brick Chapel, offered the use of the Chapel to the Historical
Society. The Historical Society was beginning to grow and needed a more
permanent space to hold their meetings and house their society library
and museum.
Historic Wall / Time Line Mural: Title--- 1811 Windham
2002
This beautiful mural with black and white pictures of
various sizes and written articles of explanation, have been silk screened
onto ceramic tiles, to tell the History of Windham. The mural contains
small bland colored mosaic tiles interspersed to make the entire wall
appealing and aesthetic to the eye. It comprises at least 12 different
categories, some of which are: founding fathers, churches, organizations,
sports, commerce, notable people from the community, politics, the future,
maps, businesses, library and more. It measures approximately 16’
x 5’ and then is enhanced with a beautiful frame of black and
gold (school colors), of approximately another 2 feet. It is situated
at the front entrance of the new High School. This mural was produced
and erected by Gregg Aliberti, a noted artist in his field from Cleveland
Ohio. Windham’s own art teacher Mr. Slavin, did the finishing
touches, by painting the black/gold border around the entire mural after
the tile portion was completed. According to the artist, we are the
first and only community in the country to have this type of mural in
it’s school system, that he is aware of. This type of tile work
is usually only used in public buildings for decoration. This was considered
one of his best efforts to date.
This project was first a vision of the school psychologist, Trina Prufer
now retired, who became the project coordinator. She had first seen
something similar at the Summit County Children’s Home, done by
the same artist. It was one of his first works, but in it he used only
a few pictures and kept a repeating pattern throughout, it wasn’t
a time line of their history. She spearheaded a drive to get community
involvement, school interest and a partial grant to help pay for this
project. The entire project was at a cost of $10,000. Some of the money
came from grants, with the remainder being donated by residents, groups
and businesses of the community.
Once the community got involved Kathi Baum, the local librarian, became
the archivist and Lynnea St. John, a community member newly retired
from the USPS, became the Committee Chairperson. Some of the school
staff, students and other community members offered help, suggestions,
input, pictures and information, to formulate this beautiful wall. It
was definitely a community project which pulled many members together
for the common good.
History of the Brick Chapel:
The Brick Chapel was built in 1838 by the Disciples of
Christ Church. It was used for a short time by the Church and later
was used as the Windham Academy. Over the years it has been used for
a variety of purposes. It was purchased by the Congregational Church.
In 1970 the Chapel underwent some remodeling with an addition being
added. A large banquet room was built, along with a stage, a beautiful
kitchen and new restrooms. It’s a lovely building which sits on
the Township Green, land donated to the Township by the founding fathers
when Windham was settled in 1811. It is a lovely old building that still
maintains its historical architecture.
3 Different Names for Windham :
Strongsburg :
Sharon :
Windham :
When Windham was first settled by the 16 families in
1811, most had come from Becket Mass. The township was first named Strongsburg
after Governor Strong, from whom the land was purchased. Later as his
political views changed, the name did not fall in favor with the Windham
residents.
The name was changed to Sharon, by an act of legislature in about 1820….
A few years later the name was again changed to Windham, which it has
remained to present. Some of the families had previously lived in Windham,
Connecticut.
Ongoing Projects:
Since the beginning of 2004 we have been doing Video/audio
interviews of some of the elder residents of Windham who have valuable
information concerning the early history of Windham. These video interviews
are extremely interesting and informative. We have gained much knowledge
that would have been lost if the interviews were not done and recorded.
These residents are so happy that someone is interested in what they
have to say and that they can contribute to the legacy of Windham, their
beloved town.
Grant Obtained :
The Windham Historical Society has recently applied for and obtained
a grant to fund the cost of, among other things, having the video/audio
interviews transcribed to written form. This will be a wonderful and
valuable teaching tool down the road.
