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THE TOWN CENTRE: Nineteenth century sources refer to the area at the junction of Route 111
and North Lowell Road as "the Centre" and for apparent good reason.
This district, which today includes the Town Hall, the Armstrong Memorial
Building (formerly housing Nesmith Library), the Bartley House (currently
housing the Town's Planning Office), the stone fire station, and the Windham
Presbyterian Church, actually is located at the approximate geographic center of
the Town of Windham. With the exception of the stone fire station, which dates from the late
1940's, each of the buildings located in the district is of eighteenth or
nineteenth century vintage. Several of the buildings share Greek
Revival-style architectural elements. For example, the Presbyterian Church
boasts many features of mid-nineteenth century Greek Revivalism. In
addition, the Bartley House, destroyed by fire on April 7, 1856 and rebuilt, is
of Greek Revival heritage. The Windham Town Hall was first erected as a meetinghouse in 1798, marking
not only the geographic, but also the civic center of the town. The
building, which is one of the earlier surviving meeting houses in the state, was
used for many years for town meetings and religious services. By 1834, the
Presbyterian congregation decided to build its own church nearby, dedicating the
Presbyterian Church on January 14, 1835. Since that time, the meetinghouse
building has been used as the Town Hall. The original building was
remodeled in April, 1868. The Nesmith Free Public Library, established in 1871 under a $3,000 grant
from the estate of Col. Thomas Nesmith, was originally located on the second
floor of the Town Hall. The library was moved to the Armstrong Memorial
Building, located next door to Town Hall, after its dedication on January
4, 1899. It remained there for nearly one hundred years.
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