“Build a convenient meeting-house for the Publick worship of God” was just one of the conditions imposed on the original settlers of Windham. Considering there were less than 10 families in the lower River Road settlement, building a church seems an overwhelming project – especially in the middle of a forest and with no real tools – but they tried.

One of the settlers put together a “shell” of a building, which was torn down and used to build the Province Fort. (Maine was still a part of the Province of Massachusetts.)

By the time the first religious leader, Rev. John Wight came here in 1743, there were 12 families. Still, they had no church but services were held in the fort.

Parson Peter Smith arrived in 1762 and he also conducted church in the fort. In fact, he never had a church to preach in, in Windham, even though he built an elegant home, which still stands.

Several attempts were made to build a church near the settlement, but these failed. The fourth try was a success and in 1795 on land “given for a training ground, burying ground and site for a meeting-house” the church was finally completed. This was at the corner of today’s Webb and Chute roads in South Windham. A century ago it was called Anderson’s Hill, named for Peter Anderson and his wife, Susan, who lived across the road from the site.

The building was 40-by-50 feet (same size as Windham Historical Society headquarters), made from wood, it was two stories high with a double row of windows with 7-by-9-inch glass. At first it had a projecting porch, later removed. It was clapboarded and painted white. There was one exterior door.

Inside, opposite the door, was the pulpit, 12 feet above the floor with a narrow, winding stairway. The pulpit was upholstered with red cloth, a cushion of white velvet to hold the Bible, and the corners had red tassels. A sounding board (to enhance the speaker’s voice) hung above the pulpit. Pews were box pews, 4 feet tall with seats on three sides and a hinged door.

There was no heat but worshippers sometimes brought “foot stoves,” which contained hot coals or a heated brick. The sermons lasted two hours and must have been inspiring to keep worshippers warm in the cold winter.

In 1834 with the population location shifting away from the early settlement, the building was abandoned and a new church built at the flourishing village of Windham Hill. The old building was sold and taken apart (each part numbered) and moved to the River Road where it was rebuilt and used as a barn.

In my youth, my best friend and her family lived on the River Road in a really old house and this barn was part of the property. We never dreamed the barn had been the first church building Windham ever had. Eventually, the power company took down the house and barn and built a power line here.