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Windham Township

9011 North Main Street
330 -326-2971

Windham Township was originally owned by Governor Caleb Strong of Massachusetts. On Sept. 11, 1810 a group of gentlemen met at the home Thatcher Conant in Beckett, Massachusetts of Berkshire County. It was their desire to purchase land in Ohio form a company and a Township and move there. The original company know as “ The Beckett Land Company” were as follows; Bill Messenger, John Seely, Jeremiah Lyman, Aaron P. Jagger, Elisha Clark, Isaac Clark, Dillingham Clark, Ebenezer Messenger, Thatcher Conant, Nathan Birchard, Enos Kingsley, Gideon Bush, Benjamin Higley, Benjamin C.Perkins, Alpheus Streator and Elijah Alford.

The company had several meetings and Nov. 11th 1810 it was decided to purchase the land. The terms of the sale were that the purchasers would turn over to the sellers their property in Massachusetts at its appraised value. The lots were surveyed and split into 100 parcels and was apportioned among the members of the company by lot according to each person’s investment. The price per acre was $1.76 and there was approximately 14,845 acres. The south half of lot 56 donated by Dillingham and Abigail Clark, Alpheus and Anna Streator and Thatcher and Elizabeth Conant was set aside for a public green, to be used for the public, with reference to the ministry. A burial spot was also chosen on the public ground, The Green, which had been set aside before the parcel allotments had been made. The burial ground was moved in 1817 along with 6 souls to its present location “Windham Township Cemetery” on Parkman Rd.

The name of the township was originally named Strongsburgh, on March 2nd in 1813 the Township was made a district by itself and the name was changed to “Sharon”. The first election was held that April. In this year the personal property in the township of Windham on which taxes were collected consisted of 8 horses and 45 cattle. In 1820 with an act of legislature, the township received the name of “Windham” chosen because many of the original settlers were from Windham, Connecticut.

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