South Windham

History

The Presumpscot River was an early transportation corridor to interior Maine; and provided reliable water power at Little Falls. Major William Knight was operating a sawmill at the falls in 1756. As the local forests were cleared, the sawmill was replaced by William Johnson's grist mill and a wool carding mill operated by Leonard Bacon and Lathrop Crockett. Locks were constructed around the falls to complete the Cumberland and Oxford Canal in 1832. The canal fell into disuse after the Portland and Ogdensburg Railway was completed through South Windham in 1875. Maine Central Railroad leased the railway as their Mountain Division in 1888. Availability of year-round transportation encouraged C.A. Brown and Company to build a large brick wood-paper board factory at South Windham in 1875. Androscoggin Pulp Company purchased the factory, and the industrial village of South Windham developed around the pulp mill. On April 4, 1919, the legislature passed an act creating the Reformatory for Men at South Windham. It is now the Maine Correctional Center, a minimum to medium security facility for men and women.

Geography

South Windham is located along the Presumpscot River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 5.31%, is water. The CDP of Little Falls is located directly across the Presumpscot River, in the town of Gorham. U.S. Route 202 and Maine State Route 4 run north-south in a concurrency through both communities.

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  33,279
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  29,947
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,887
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27,539
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  24,765
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  22,964
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  22,908
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  22,201

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2025-01-27
  9 km SE of York Harbor, Maine
• M 2.8 — 2024-07-28
  6 km W of Gardiner, Maine
• M 2.5 — 2023-08-08
  6 km N of Turner, Maine
• M 2.9 — 2023-04-25
  4 km SW of Center Sandwich, New Hampshire
• M 2.9 — 2022-02-04
  0 km SSW of Gorham, New Hampshire
• M 2.6 — 2021-12-07
  38 km SE of Old Orchard Beach, Maine