Winfield L. Foote is seated in the front row third from left.

In September, we often share a topic that relates to the return of Stratham’s children to school.  In the case above, Miss Edna M. Crane’s 1932 students were photographed on the steps of one of our 4 one-room schoolhouses known as the Ridge or Division 1 School on Portsmouth Avenue.  If you were looking for this building today, you would have to imagine it in the frame shop next to Stratham’s Police Station.  But this article is not about the school.  It is rather about one of the more remarkable students ever to occupy a schoolhouse study seat in Stratham.

His name, Winfield L. Foote (1922-2004), has been receiving a considerable amount of unexpected publicity over the last 15 years or so even though he died over 20 years ago.  He is not known for his As and Bs in first grade, or because Miss Crane catapulted Winfield from first to second grade in 1929 when he was 7 years old.  Winfield Foote is celebrated today because of his thoughtfulness and generosity as an adult.

It is said that Winfield arrived in Stratham from Exeter.  This is challenging to substantiate.  His Ridge School attendance proved that he was already in Stratham when, in 1930, his mother, Leah (Cottrell) Foote bought the old parsonage next to the Christian Church on the Main Road.  The property was conveyed by Fred L. Jewell, who was then Trustee of the First Christian Society, “in consideration of one dollar”.  Winfield Foote’s father does not appear on the 1930 deed.  The church, facing declining attendance, was taken down not long thereafter.  Winfield graduated Exeter High School in 1940 and continued to work locally at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and in Newmarket all of his working life.  Following the passing of both of his parents, Winfield continued to live by himself at 154 Portsmouth Avenue until his own passing in 2004.  He became a member of the Stratham Historical Society just two doors away.  He would often stop by the Historical Society to strike up a chat with long-term president Barbara Mann. 

Winfield Foote’s parents Leah and Harry Foote in front of the house Leah purchased in 1930 
“in consideration of one dollar”

Winfield was an only child and inherited the house where he lived for 74 years.  Much to everyone’s surprise, when he passed in 2004, Winfield’s attorney and executor of his will advised that Winfield L. Foote had bequeathed his house and personal property to the Stratham Historical Society.  Proceeds from the sale of the house and property now serve in a highly-governed endowment from which 80% of earnings each year go to fund scholarships for high school seniors graduating Exeter High School as well as seniors who live in Stratham graduating from private schools.  Scholarships are also available to rising college juniors and seniors from Stratham whose studies are related to history.  Grants for advanced students/teachers that align with Stratham Historical Society’s mission for continuing history research are also considered.  The Winfield L. Foote Awards for Excellence, as they have been named, live on in perpetuity.  Currently, they fund around $15,000 per year in scholarships and grants.  Amid the many faces of colonial and later heroes in Stratham who were senators, congressmen, politicians, diplomats, attorneys, judges, doctors, donors, farmers, gardeners, ministers and those who served in the military, Winfield L. Foote is a face of Stratham we should all recognize and revere. 

Faces of Stratham are provided by the Stratham Historical Society located at the corner of Portsmouth Avenue and Winnicutt Road.  Special thanks to volunteer Jeanne Danilczuk whose research contributed to this article.  Our Museum & Library is now open on Tuesdays from 9 am to 11:30 am or by appointment.  We hope to expand our open hours in the coming months.  Anyone with an interest in Stratham and local history is invited to stop by, become a member, donate or volunteer.  We are actively seeking to expand membership and identify those with an interest in volunteering time to advance and share their learning of Stratham history.