7

BUILDING NORTH LOWELL ROAD

The first roads in Windham, as well as those in colonial New England in general, were nothing more than mere dirt paths worn by the passing of early settlers. Trees along a path were often marked so that those unfamiliar with the territory would be able to find their way. However, it was not long before the first official roads were laid out in the area of Londonderry that became Windham. Many times, the roads were built along the old paths, as these paths would have likely been clear of most major obstacles, such as large rocks and trees. However, when debris was present, clearing the road proved to be a very difficult task. The clearing of brush, trees and boulders was often done by hand or with horses in the case of particularly large, heavy obstacles. Although the well-built roads of larger towns were often leveled for the convenience of those traveling on them, the early roads of Windham were rather crude.

In fact, many of the roads in colonial Windham were barely passable for horses. As carriages and horse-drawn carts did not exist in Windham at the time, it was unnecessary to improve the roads sufficiently for such vehicles. There is an interesting story about one of the first animaldrawn vehicles to ride along the roads of Windham. The local deacon decided it would be to his advantage if he constructed an ox-drawn cart for himself. He started by cutting down a large maple tree, which was then sawed into pieces in order to serve as wheels. Holes were bored through the center of each wheel for an axle. The rather crude vehicle had one unfortunate drawback. Every time the wheels made a single revolution, they would emit a horrible screeching sound that could be heard for some distance.

Although the deacon seemed not to mind the noise—at least, not enough to cease using the cart—one of his neighbors certainly did. On one morning in particular, the neighbor was greeted with the horrendous sound of the wheels of the oxcart. There was no apparent explanation for the bizarre noise, and he was quick to attribute them to something of the supernatural realm. He thought Judgment Day was approaching, and even though he was not a particularly pious man, he ran into his house and began to read his Bible. He spent the entire day reading from the scriptures and praying. However, toward the evening, a friend who lived nearby arrived at his home, and their conversation began with the deacon’s neighbor asking his acquaintance if he had heard any noise out of the ordinary. In reply, the friend said that the only noise he had heard that day was the deacon’s new oxcart.

The first official road laid out in Windham was approved by the town on November 6, 1742. The new highway began near Golden Brook and went on to follow the route of an older path. Several other major roads were also constructed in town between the 1740s and the first quarter of the nineteenth century. One such road was the one leading from the northeastern section of Windham to the town center. However, there was not one single extensive road that would be akin to the modern North Lowell Road. Rather, the road was a network of several roads, which meandered their way to the town center. One such subset of the road was built between the properties of John Hemphill and Agnes Hemphill. When the time came to construct such a road in the 1820s, the builders were met with a dilemma.

Although hard labor and horse-drawn implements often proved sufficient to remove many of the obstacles in the paths of new roads, the path between the Hemphill homes was interrupted by a hill. The hill being too large to cut through or remove completely, the town was left having to decide whether or not the road should be constructed around the hill or over the hill. Eventually, it was decided the short stretch of road should be built around the hill, making it easier for the horses and pedestrians who would be using the road.

For the next several years, the town received numerous petitions asking for the antecedent of North Lowell Road to be straightened and widened. However, the town declined to do so on each occasion. Eventually, the road commissioners were notified, and the older part of the road was widened and a new stretch of road added. To widen the road would have required the clearing of much of the natural obstacles that may have been off to the side of the old road. Also, straightening the road was surely a monumental feat for the day. Without modern surveying instruments, laborers would have had to straighten the entire length of the road based on rough estimates.

An 1820s petition to build a road “over or round the hill” to connect two nearby Hemphill properties. Author’s collection .

The completed highway began at the property of John Hemphill and continued south for about 1,500 feet. Although there were certainly residents living north of the Hemphill property, no improvements were made to connect their roads with the new road. However, they would have certainly had to make use of the new road to reach the town center. The stretch of the road that began at the home of John Hemphill eventually met a preexisting road that continued on to the town’s meetinghouse. When the highway was completed, the road was about 50 feet wide, allowing for horse-drawn vehicles to safely share the road with pedestrians.

As with many modern-day roads and infrastructure projects, it was necessary to cut through the private land of several property owners along the route. John Cochran received the lion’s share of damages from the town, which amounted to $266.00. Another property owner received just $12.00. Windham spent an additional $39.69 on building the road itself; the entire project cost only $317.69. With the costs of many modern roads exceeding many millions, it is hard to imagine that, at one time, a road could be built for such a nominal sum. Also, the costs were certainly reduced by not cutting through the hill, a decision that might have been very different in the current century.