Windham is composed of several villages or “centers,” usually at an intersection of two or three roads.

The intersection of Routes 302 and 202, near Windham Center, is known as “The Rotary” by most people. It was created in the mid-1850s – prior to that, it was all farmland from the Pleasant River to Ward Road to the north, as Route 302 (Roosevelt Trail) was yet to be built in this section of town.

On the oldest maps designating villages and little settlements, this area was called the Kennard Neighborhood because of the Kennard families who lived here alongside the Varney brothers who built several houses in the area. A Varney built the brick Kennard School on Route 202 and that building is still standing, part of a private home. Early settlers included the families named Hall, Morrell, Varney and Kennard.

The construction of Route 302 from Ward Road down toward Portland, in the mid-1850s, created an intersection that became known as Morrell’s Corner. Andrew Morrell had a grocery and feed store at the intersection.

In the late 1800s, Morrell sold to a man named Hasty, who then sold out to Foster Bros. & Co. – the corner was then called Foster’s Corner.

In 1920, Alonzo Seavey bought the Foster Bros. property and opened a Clover Farm Grocery Store.

In those days, nearby Pleasant River gave its name to the Pleasant River Grange and the Pleasant River House – both at the corner. The latter is gone, as is Morrell’s Tavern, but the old Grange hall has been renovated and is a pleasant office building.

In 1951, the state reconfigured this extremely busy corner, eliminating parts of some very old roads, and building a new section for the road to Gray (Route 202), and of course, adding a rotary. This project cost around $273,000 and since the 1950s, the corner has since been called “The Rotary” by most people. In 1961, Hall Implement Co. was founded and the address in their logo is “At the Rotary”.

Slow down when you travel through The Rotary – you’re traveling through history!