Community Profile

Summary

Willimantic is the downtown city area of the town of Windham in a part of Connecticut known as the “Quiet Corner." The community’s name comes from an Algonquian Indian term for “land of the swift running waters." In the 1800s, the rivers attracted textile factories, including The American Thread Company, which produced the first spool of thread ever made. The town’s historic heritage has been preserved in a Mill Museum, a Railroad Museum, numerous Victorian homes, a 1907 footbridge and many renovated mills. Willimantic is now the home to one of the four state universities and a community college. There is a strong sense of community, as shown by its many festivals and civic organizations, including the Garden Club of Windham, a sponsor of the Community Wildlife Habitat project.