Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A trip down memory lane, good fellowship and humor, frog stickers, birthday hats and corresponding cake combined to comprise the celebration highlighting the town of Windsor’s 123rd birthday on Saturday, March 15.

The Isle of Wight County Museum hosted the celebratory event in the Arrowhead Conference Room at Windsor Town Center.

As a museum preview of the event noted, Windsor was founded March 15, 1902.

Museum Director Jennifer England welcomed those in attendance on Saturday by sharing a brief history of the town.

She noted that the land that makes up what is known today as the town of Windsor was conveyed as early as 1681 by way of land grants.

“Because the soil was so wet and heavy around here, lots of frogs were abundant, and so Windsor was known early on as Frog Level,” she said. “So that’s why you all have stickers with frogs on them — wear them proudly, along with your hat.”

She stated that several travel routes were established and crossed in Corrowaugh, which is what Native Americans called Windsor.

“In 1818, the town was established as a post office, and the mail was brought by courier once a week until 1859 when the daily contract was given to the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad,” she said. “We’re going to hear more about that in just a moment. Land for the railroad had been purchased in 1854. Construction took five years.”

She said Corrowaugh was renamed by William “Billy” Mahone.

England referenced the train station that was built in Windsor and that was ultimately demolished in 1985. There is a graphic of the station on the town’s seal.

“The town charter was granted by the General Assembly in March of 1902, and it of course then became the town of Windsor,” she said.

She noted that she brought some Windsor-related artifacts from the museum to the celebration.

Local historian Clyde Parker gave a presentation on area railroad history, including telling the story of the 1912-26 Roanoke Railway Company, which enabled large quantities of lumber to supply the Camp mill in southwestern Isle of Wight County.

Parker’s presentation served as a catalyst to an informal historical conversation with some of those in attendance, including a veteran of the railroad industry.

Also contributing to the conversation was Albert P. Burckard Jr., who gave a railroad presentation at Windsor’s 122nd birthday celebration and who was also celebrating his own birthday on March 15.

Near the end of his remarks, Parker said, “To sum it all up, this whole area, Windsor, Wakefield, Ivor, Franklin — its development and its history goes back to the railroad, that’s for sure.”

Windsor Town Manager William Saunders gave a brief update on a train-related matter that the town is engaged with in 2025.

“Some of you all might have heard some talk about a caboose in Windsor, and I’ve got Mr. Burckard to thank for pointing us in that direction,” Saunders said.

The Windsor Town Council recently reached a consensus to pursue acquisition of a circa 1927 red Norfolk & Western caboose with the hope of ultimately putting it on display in Windsor as a tribute to the locality’s history as a train town. The caboose is essentially being donated to Windsor.

In February, the council voted to expend funds to move the caboose from its current location in Suffolk to Repair Tech Industrial Contractors’ facility in Franklin for exterior renovations.

“The caboose that was found used to be part of Mike’s Trainland in Suffolk,” Saunders said. “It is a CG-class caboose, which is the first caboose that had steel sides. Prior to that they all had wooden sides that were built for the Norfolk & Western. It was built in the Norfolk & Western shop in Roanoke. There were only about 25 of the CG class built, and I’ve seen records for about half of those that record that they went to scrap. So there’s only a handful of these left. I don’t know how many, but probably no more than 10.”

England also gave Windsor Mayor George Stubbs an opportunity to address those in attendance at the town’s birthday event.

“I’d just like to thank everyone for attending this afternoon,” Stubbs said. “Very nice of you all, good to see everyone.”

Following the presentations, a birthday cake was cut that, while beautiful, had a surprising typo — it misspelled Windsor as “Windor.” England noted the mistake upon receipt of the cake, but she used the error by the cake decorator as a good-natured source of levity, declaring the letter of the day to be “S” as a corrective measure.

She also invited those attending the event to sing “Happy Birthday” to either Windsor or Windor.

“This year, like other years of celebrating Windsor’s birthday, is a showing of how much residents love their town and how much they care about its history,” she said in a Wednesday, March 19, interview. “They enjoy sharing their experiences and knowledge so that we can all learn more about our community. Plus, commemorative events with cake are great events!”