Windham, Ohio

Windham is a

Prior to 1811, the land now comprising the Village and Township of Windham was owned by Caleb Strong,^[8] as part of his holdings through the Ohio Company of Associates.^[9] On September 11, 1810, a group of sixteen men met in Becket, Massachusetts at the home of Thatcher Conant to discuss the purchase of land in Ohio for settlement. These men, who would be known as the "Beckett [sic] Land Company", consisted of Conant, Elijah Alford, Nathan Birchard, Gideon Bush, Dillingham Clark, Elisha Clark, Isaac Clark, Benjamin Higley, Aaron P. Jagger, Enos Kingsley, Jeremiah Lyman, Bille Messenger, Ebenezer Messenger, Benjamin C. Perkins, John Seely, and Alpheus Streator.^[8]

On November 11, 1810, the Beckett Land Company purchased about 14,825 acres (59.99 km²) from Caleb Strong. The land was divided into 100

The Windham Historical Society notes that the township was originally named Strongsburg,[11] however, some sources cite the original name as Strongsburgh.^[8] The namesake was original landowner Caleb Strong, who was by then the Governor of Massachusetts. There is some discrepancy in how this township came to be known as Windham. According to the Windham Historical Society, the name of the township "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." The Historical Society also cites political concerns as the reason the name was changed from Strongsburg to Sharon.^[11] However, on Windham Township's website, March 2, 1813 is cited as the date on which "the Township was made a district by itself and the name was changed to 'Sharon'." The website goes on to state that in 1820, by an act of legislature, the name was changed again to Windham.^[8] Yet another source, The Ohio Gazetteer, and Travelers's [sic] Guide, states that the name was changed from Sharon to Windham in January 1829.^[12] Still another source places these dates as 1817 and 1820, respectively.^[4] Common to most sources are a few claims which reasonably can be ascertained to be fact:

• Caleb Strong was the original namesake of the township.^{[4][8][10][11]}
• The name of the township was changed from Strongsburg/Strongsburgh, to Sharon, and again to Windham.^{[4][8][10][11]}
• The second name change, from Sharon to Windham, was in honor of Windham, Connecticut—home to at least some of the township's original settlers.^[4][8][11]

On November 22, 1973, a train heading eastbound at 50 mph derailed to a switch being open to an industrial track. Two locomotives and the first twelve cars derailed. The engineer Raymond Wilcox passed away in the accident. During the investigation it was discovered that two juveniles admitted to placing the switch into the reverse direction.^[13]

The Village of Windham was incorporated in 1892, and on October 12, 1993, the village officially withdrew from Windham Township.^[5]

Ravenna Arsenal

In 1940, the

There were 786 households, of which 45.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 29.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 23.9% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.14.

The median age in the village was 31.6 years. 31.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 23.4% were from 45 to 64; and 9.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 46.8% male and 53.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

There were 959 households, out of which 45.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 27.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 35.9% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $31,630, and the median income for a family was $32,679. Males had a median income of $30,791 versus $20,859 for females. The

Education

Windham Exempted Village School District operates one elementary school, one middle school, and Windham High School.^[21] A private academy was chartered in Windham on February 19, 1835.^[4] Windham Academy was the 44th to be chartered by Ohio.^[22] This school closed in 1853, and was replaced by a second, short-lived private school in the 1860s. Windham High School was founded in 1883, across the street from the present school building.

Windham has a public library, a branch of the Portage County District Library.^[23]

Infrastructure

Windham has regular public transit bus service on a weekday Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority route from Ravenna, that also services Garrettsville and Hiram in eastern Portage County.^[24]

Notable people

• Thomson Jay Hudson, parapsychologist
• Angela Johnson, writer
• Stan Parrish, football coach
• Dempster Woodworth, Wisconsin state senator and physician
• Laurin D. Woodworth, politician

References

External links

• Village website
• Chamber of Commerce website