At first glance, Windham might not seem like the most desirable place to settle down if you’re buying a house in Connecticut. But while Windham may have seen its fair share of troubles in the past, the future for this small town is a bright one, and now is an excellent time to invest in an affordable market.
The town of Windham was founded in 1692 after a Mohican chief named Joshua willed roughly 30 square miles of land in eastern Connecticut to 16 English colonists. Originally named Willimantic – Mohican for “swiftly running water” – the town became a hotspot for water-wheel mills, a few of which still exist today.
Like many colonial Connecticut towns, Windham has its fair share of historic sites. There are seven locations throughout the town on the National Registry of Historic Places, including the old Windham Armory and several campsites that French general Rochambeau and his army used during the Revolutionary War.
Although Windham hit economic difficulties when its last industrial employer, the American Thread Company, closed the doors to its factory in 1985, the town today is in the midst of a renaissance. To date, the town has turned almost all of its abandoned factories into textile and mill museums or public gardens. Additionally, the neighborhoods of North Windham and South Windham are currently being developed into upper-middle-class suburbs, and the central downtown area is being completely remodeled.
As a result, more and more people are starting to recognize Windham as an excellent place to settle down and start a family. Because the town is still developing, it can offer the same nostalgic charm that other pieces of Connecticut real estate do, but for less. A four-bedroom home can sell for as low as $200,000, and with a few foreclosures still remaining on the market, it’s possible to find an even better deal than that.
If you’re buying a house in Connecticut and want to get a head start on a town that will have everyone talking in a few years, then Windham is the place to be. Its historic buildings, charming parks and breathtaking trails can hold up to those of any other town here in the Constitution State, and all for a fraction of the cost.
