Windham, ME
| Windham, Maine | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Main Street, South Windham c. 1910
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| Motto: Windham Works for Maine | |
 Location in Cumberland County and the state of Maine. |
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| Coordinates: 43°48′38″N 70°25′1″W / 43.81056°N 70.41694°WCoordinates: 43°48′38″N 70°25′1″W / 43.81056°N 70.41694°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maine |
| County | Cumberland |
| Incorporated | June 12, 1762 |
| Government | |
| • Council Chairman | Tommy Gleason |
| • Town Manager | Anthony Plante |
| Area | |
| • Total | 50.15 sq mi (129.89 km2) |
| • Land | 46.56 sq mi (120.59 km2) |
| • Water | 3.59 sq mi (9.30 km2) |
| Elevation | 236 ft (72 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 17,001 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 17,272 |
| • Density | 365.1/sq mi (141.0/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 04062, 04082 |
| Area code(s) | 207 |
| FIPS code | 23-86025 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0582817 |
| Website | www |
Windham is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 17,001 at the 2010 census. It includes the villages of South Windham and North Windham. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The township was granted in 1734 by the Massachusetts General Court to Abraham Howard, Joseph Blaney and 58 others from Marblehead, Massachusetts. In 1737, New Marblehead Plantation was settled by Captain Thomas Chute. By order of the Massachusetts General Court, a fort was built in spring of 1744 on a hill in the southern part of town near the early center of settlement to offer protection during King George's War. A 50-foot square blockhouse constructed of 12-inch thick hewn hemlock had an overhanging second story with firing ports and two swivel guns in watch posts on diagonal corners. The blockhouse was surrounded by a wall of 12-inch diameter log posts 16 feet long. The single gate through the stockade wall was covered by a 4.2-inch (11 cm) bore 9-pounder cannon within the blockhouse.
The town's inhabitants took shelter in the stockade between 1745 and 1751. The last Indian attack on the town occurred on May 14, 1756. New Marblehead Plantation was incorporated on June 12, 1762 as Windham, named for Wymondham in Norfolk, England. Windham Minutemen marched to Portland in response to the Burning of Falmouth on 18 October 1775 and sixteen men were drafted from the town for the Penobscot Expedition. Thirteen Windham men are reported as being members of the Continental Army with George Washington's American Revolutionary War winter encampment at Valley Forge. Windham's 9-pounder cannon and one swivel gun from the stockade blockhouse were loaned to Portland in 1775. Portland had refused to surrender these guns to Captain Henry Mowat as he demanded before he burned the town; and they were placed aboard the privateer Reprieve in 1776.
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