North Windham as described in 1889 [1]:
In the northwest corner of town, on the Natchaug River and the New York and New England Railroad, lies the post village of North Windham. It is situated on a comparatively level step on the northwest border of the hilly section of the town, and about four miles north of Willimantic. The village contains some 400 inhabitants, and its principal institution is a manufactory of thread. The locality was formerly called New Boston, and about the year 1810 Edmond Badger and others built a mill here and began the manufacture of writing paper. This enterprise gave some impetus to the growth of the village for awhile, but it was abandoned by Badger in 1825, and after further failures to make it a success, it fell into the hands of an Englishman named Joseph Pickering, who with great labor and difficulty had succeeded in bringing to America the first imported Fourdrinier machine for the manufacture of paper. He was joined by J. A. H. Frost, of Boston, and they bought the dilapidated mill at a very low price and here set up the machine which was to effect a revolution in paper making. This firm soon became bankrupt, and their Boston creditors attempted to carry on the business, but were equally unsuccessful. The Fourdrinier machine was moved to Andover, Connecticut, and finally to York, Pennsylvania.
In 1831 the paper mill came into the hands of Mr. Justin Swift, who transformed it into a cotton factory. The mill employed about 40 hands and was of benefit to the neighborhood.
The settlement of North Windham had, in the first half of the century, a fulling and carding mill owned by the Lincolns. The village had attained sufficient importance to be favored with a post office in 1838, and Mr. Ralph Lincoln was appointed postmaster, which office he retained for many years.
Street Names
Boston Post Road • Route 203 • Route 6 • Windham Road North