At Windham’s town meeting in March 1884, it was voted (after three years of being on the warrant) to spend not more than $500 for a hearse. Keep in mind the school budget that year was $2,000. The hearse, shown above, cost $400 and the “extra” was spent on building a hearse house. Drawn by horses, the town hearse was used from date of arrival until 1914 when the local undertaker purchased his own “horseless carriage.” The old horse-drawn hearse was used once in a while, but went into storage in the hearse house next to Smith Cemetery, where it stayed until 2004 when Windham Historical Society moved it to its new resting place – in the shed behind the Old Grocery Museum at the corner of Route 202 and Windham Center Road. In this mid 1950s photo, selectmen stand beside the hearse, trying to decide what to do with it. The old hearse can be seen (without the horses!) when the Old Grocery Museum is open to the public on Thursday mornings this fall. Photo courtesy of Windham Historical Society