The Windham Historical Society’s Village Green is undergoing renovations this spring and summer. Haley Pal / For Lakes Region Weekly

Although it’s happening right in the very heart of Windham Center, many of you may not be aware that there is a village being built.

Behind the Historical Society’s headquarters in the Old Town House Museum on Windham Center Road, the Village Green Living History Center is under construction. When completed, the Village will give a fascinating glimpse into what life in Windham would have been like at the end of the 19th century.

Many of the buildings on the Village Green have historic meaning to our town. The Old Town House Museum served not only as our early Town Hall but was also used as a school for a while. It now houses the Historical Society’s research library and many artifacts donated by society members and people in the community.

Right beside it sits the Windham Center Library. Until 1972 when the current library was erected, this tiny building served as the library for this part of town. It was started by a local sewing circle that would take turns having “the library” in their homes. This was called the Windham Circulating Library. When the little building went up for sale, the ladies purchased it for a minimal sum and filled it with books for research and for pleasure. This building will get a back door and porch and will have not only volumes on display but will also focus on the history of Windham Center.

Behind these two buildings on the Green itself sits the Old Grocery which was moved from the corner of Windham Center Road and Route 202 a couple of years back. This building was purchased as a tailor shop by William Goold in 1838. It was then sold to the Hawkes family who operated it as a grocery for over 100 years. These days, it is aggressively being cleaned up and renovated. When renovation is complete, the old store will look much like it would have in the late 1890s. As it was a cobbler’s shop and a tailor shop at one time, there will be exhibits focusing on these crafts as well. There will also be an old telephone switchboard in place that was once housed in the building when Fred S. Hawkes was its proprietor.

Another historic Windham landmark that has been moved to the Village Green is the little yellow South Windham Library. This building used to sit on the border of South Windham and Gorham in the Little Falls section of town. Renovations are underway to make it a museum that will focus on South Windham. An ell has also been added using components from the original South Windham Railroad Station. Artifacts from the station will fill the ell and help tell the story of life in South Windham when the railroad contributed largely to the prosperity of the village. Back then, South Windham was a bustling community filled with mills, shops and plenty of neighborhood spirit.

What would a village be without a schoolhouse? The Historical Society has taken an old gun shop on the property and converted it into an authentic-looking, one-room schoolhouse of the past. Living history classes have been taught here and many a modern scholar has delighted in taking part in the activity. This is a wonderful learning experience with children seeing firsthand what a day at school was like in bygone times.

There are also two new structures on the Green. The first is a post-and-beam blacksmith shop for showcasing tools and the skills of a real-life blacksmith. When completed, the smithy’s shop will feature a pan hearth forge and period bellows for demonstrations of the trade. The other new component on the Green is a gazebo where the society hopes to host “Concerts on the Green” beginning this fall.

The plan is for some of these buildings to be ready for tours later in 2022. This spring and summer, volunteers are busily cleaning, hauling furniture, planting, painting, woodworking and so much more. If you would like to help create a piece of history in our hometown, the society welcomes volunteers. Call the Windham Historical Society at 892-1433 to sign up or to learn more. Monetary donations are also welcome. Or pay the society a visit from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday mornings to check out the progress being made as history is being brought back to life.

Haley Pal is a Windham resident and an active member of the Windham Historical Society. She can be contacted at haleypal@aol.com.