Most people who call Windham home may not know the significance of a plain, unadorned granite post that stands on the side of a hill in South Windham on the River Road. Yet it’s one of the most historically significant sites in town.

There’s no convenient place to park a vehicle to get out and look at it, and most people speed right by. It’s the cornerstone for Lot #1 of the first division of 100-acre lots in the town. All subsequent land divisions were laid out using this stone as the starting place. Every single parcel’s boundaries started here.

Many years ago, when all school children were taught Windham history, the importance of this marker and other historic sites were part of the school curriculum and a bus trip around town to view history was anticipated, much as it is today. The granite marker was one of the features of the trip and children learned what it meant, just as they do now.

The cornerstone has withstood hundreds of years of environmental attack and undermining by road widening and erosion, but it’s still there and thanks to efforts by a young Windham man, may still be standing for years to come.

For his Eagle Scout project, David Leclaire has selected the restoration of this site including a proper sign. This isn’t an easy project, since the stone is on property belonging to the state and the location on busy River Road makes accessibility almost impossible. But he’s got a fine plan and the end result will be a point of pride for all Windham residents.

At a recent Windham Historical Society Board of Directors meeting, he presented the project. Society members were overwhelmed with the amount of preparation done to date which has included many contacts with various authorities and detailed planning. The consensus was that this was overwhelmingly one of the most important, if not the most important, activity the society has supported over its last 40 years. You’ll be hearing more about this project in days to come.

Among all the negative reports and news of our younger citizens, it’s important to recognize outstanding activities such as this.

The town should value the impact of the restoration of Lot #1 Cornerstone and be thankful for David Leclaire’s thoughtfulness, responsibility and contribution.

For 150 years, Windham town and school officials conducted town business in the brick building constructed for this purpose in 1833. The building not only served as the town hall, but as a school for almost 20 years until a high school was built in 1910.

The historic town house, since 1983 the home for Windham Historical Society, will be 175 years old this fall and this anniversary will be cause for an open house and celebration. We’ll keep you posted as to date.

See you next week!