Town of Windham Historical Society
Area of Coverage and Board of Trustees
(The miniature tintype above is of an unidentified woman. The label on the back says, "From Henry Fish's Gem Gallery, Windham Centre, N.Y." Circa 1865, collection of Patricia Morrow.)
AREA OF COVERAGE - Windham, Greene County, New York
When the Town of Windham was created in 1798 from part of the Town of Woodstock in Ulster County, NY, it encompassed a much larger region than it does today. Between 1813 and 1851 "Old Windham" was carved up to create the seven mountaintop towns of Ashland, Halcott, Hunter, Jewett, Lexington, Prattsville and Windham.
The Town of Windham Historical Society has chosen to limits its scope to the current town boundaries, specifically the three hamlets of Hensonville (formerly known as Bailey's Four Corners), Maplecrest (Big Hollow), and Windham (Osbornville and Windham Centre); and the regions known as Brooksburg (Union Society), Brooklyn, Mitchell Hollow, Nauvoo, North Settlement, and part of East Windham.
According to its Constitution the Society's purpose shall be the marking and preservation of historic places, the discovery, collection, preservation and publication of the history, historical and genealogical records and topographical information relating to the Town of Windham, including the hamlets of Hensonville and Maplecrest; to acquire by purchase, gift or legacy, historical buildings, properties and any other items with acceptable antique or historical value; to preserve all the above in as near original form as feasible and to make available said properties and items for the benefit and education of the greater public; to impress upon the members and the town residents the importance of keeping Windham's heritage alive as a source of interest and information.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Nettie Brink
Glynn Davis
Margy Davis, President
Janet Gooss, Co-Treasurer
Bill Haltermann
Regina Kazman, Vice-President
Bill Lonecke
Lynne McGowan, Secretary and Co-Treasurer
Patricia Morrow, Windham Town Historian <email: pmorrowj@cs.com>
Peg Sokoll
All members of the Board of Trustees serve without compensation.
Annual Membership - Payment for 2008 is Now Due
Membership in the Town of Windham Historical Society is open to all regardless of where they live.
Annual membership levels are as follows:
Basic (per person) ... $10.00
Seniors (age 55+) ... $5.00
Family (residing at the same address) ... $15.00
Donations of any amount are always welcome and greatly appreciated.
Please remember to include your name, mailing address, email address and membership level when sending a check payable to the:
Town of Windham Historical Society
PO Box 1111
Windham, NY 12496
Our first annual newsletter, published in 2007, contained brief histories of the Society's origins, the old Windham Public Library, the Ayres fountain in Hensonville, and the Big Hollow/Maplecrest blacksmith shop, along with images of each landmark.
Our 2008 newsletter will be mailed in the fall. This year only members of the Town of Windham Historical Society will receive copies, so send in your dues today.
Our fiscal year runs from January 1 through December 31.
The Town of Windham Historical Society is classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt public charity.
Calendar of Events and Genealogy Corner
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
IMPORTANT NOTICE - Please note that Church Street, linking Main Street and South Street, will be closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic until further notice while the bridge is being replaced.
~~~ Board of Trustees Meeting - Thursday, May 15, 2008, 5:30 PM, Windham Public Library, Windham; meeting agenda will be emailed to all board members.
~~~ Third Annual Meeting - Friday, June 6, 2008, 6:30 PM, Windham Civic Center (former Centre Presbyterian Church), Main Street, Windham. Gary Wank will be our guest speaker. He is expected to give a presentation on the Peck family that once owned an extensive tract of land between Hensonville and Maplecrest. All are welcome to attend this free event, but only town residents who are also members of the Society may nominate candidates to serve on the Board of Trustees, hold office, and vote for trustees and officers.
~~~ 32nd Annual Tour of Homes, Saturday, June 7, 2008, 10 AM - 4 PM, Palenville, Town of Catskill, NY, sponsored by the Greene County Historical Society. Tour headquarters will be at Maple Grove Resort on Route 23A in Palenville. Tickets are $20 the day of the tour; $15 in advance must be received by June 2. Send check payable to GCHS to: Greene County Historical Society, P.O. Box 44, Coxsackie, NY 12051.
~~~ Postcard Show - Saturday, July 5, 2008, 1-5 PM, Windham Civic Center (former Centre Presbyterian Church), Main Street, Windham. A bake sale and basket raffle will be held in conjunction with this event. Admission is free.
~~~ Third Annual Town Photo (date, time and place to be announced). Information will be posted on this website, in the Windham Journal's Community Calendar, on the WRIP datebook at <http://wrip979.com/datebook.html> and announced on WRIP 97.9 FM.
~~~ Book Signing by John M. Ham for "One Hundred Years on 'Resort Ridge' - The Legendary Mountain Hotels of the Northern Catskills." (date, time and place to be announced). Area historians and collectors, John Duda, Lonnie Gale, John Ham, Justine Hommel, Suzanne Hudson, Tim Mallery, Patricia Morrow, Larry Tompkins, Robert Uzzilia and others have contributed their writing talents and loaned hundreds of old photographs and advertising ephemera. This hardcover, 8.5" x 11" book on the early resorts, hotels and boarding houses of the Catskills will contain 448 pages and almost 700 photos, maps and vintage advertisements printed on glossy paper. Click on the link below to reserve your copy at the prepublication price of $55 (plus 8% sales tax to NYS addresses) plus $5 for shipping. The cover price will be $64.95 for this limited edition.
GENEALOGY CORNER
Town residents who have a library card from the Windham Public Library can use it to access Heritage Quest's genealogical database from their home computer. Heritage Quest's holdings include federal census schedules from 1790-1820 and 1860-1920 for all states and territories, and part of the 1930 census. They also have digitzed images from thousands of published genealogies and books on local history; Revolutionary War pension files; PERSI, the Periodical Source Index; Freedman's Bank Records; and the U.S. Serial Set, Memorials, Petitions and Private Relief Actions of the U.S. Congress. Onsite library patrons can access Ancestry.com's records.
Copyright 2007 & 2008 - Town of Windham Historical Society
Updated April 20, 2008.
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