Census data can be misleading. Windham was one of the original townships when Greene County was formed in 1800, and Windham 's population then was 1,688. In 1990 the population of the Town of Windham was 1,682. Local people sometimes say that "nothing changes here," and the census would seem to indicate that to be true. But the truth behind those figures is that the Town of Windham in 1800 included today's towns of Hunter, Jewett, Ashland, and Prattsville-virtually all of the present-day Greene County mountaintop.

The population of the area that is now defined by the Town of Windham has grown since 1800, but thankfully not by leaps and bounds. Windham remains a haven of rural, hometown America , a community surrounded by and defined by nature, accessible but "far from the madding crowds."

Even given the much larger geographic size of the Town of Windham in 1800, the population at that time is impressive considering that it wasn't settled until after the American Revolution. Farmers and artisans flocked into the area once hostilities ceased, building the communities that exist today. They lived off the land and the forests; by 1835 there were 34 sawmills in the Town of Windham . Turnpikes-toll roads-were built, and Windham was one of the gateways to the West. That steady flow of people and goods continues today along NYS Route 23, and combined with the Town of Windham 's attractions as a tourist destination, makes Windham a unique community-grounded in rural values and gifted with untouched natural beauty, but with a cosmopolitan flair.