Royal School of Needlework-- 2015 Courses

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Willimantic, Home of Historic Thread Mill

 
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Since it was Mother's Day, we decided to travel to the mill town of Willimantic (Windham). This town was the site of a prominent silk and cotton thread mill. The mill is no longer operative, but houses the Windham Textile and History Museum. Adjacent to the old mill is the Frog Bridge, depicting frogs atop spools of thread. In the mid 1700's while the men were off fighting in the French and Indian War, the remaining residents were awakened one night by a horrible screeching sound. They thought the Indians were raiding the town and emerged with rifles, shooting into the night sky to try to frighten the Indians. After a night of hiding from the raiders, they awakened to see hundreds of dead frogs lying near the dry pond. It was the screaming frogs they had heard. The story of this fateful night has endured, and the bridge is a memorial of sorts to this story. There is a nice quilting store just down the road, and that is why I went there.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love those frogs, Margaret. I am so proud of Willimantic for allowing those to be erected. In the winter they have red scarves on them. Like to eat at the old post office as well as the trip to Quilter's Dream.
JayneCT