The 1754 Frog Fight in Wyndham and Its Unexpected Consequences (7 photos)

Frogs are generally harmless creatures. But some people are afraid of these amphibians and try to avoid contact with them unless necessary. And in some severe cases, the fear reaches the point of absurdity.





But not like the residents of the small town of Windham in eastern Connecticut. Many local businesses are named after frogs. The bug-eyed beauties adorn logos and signs, appear as graffiti, and sit proudly on pedestals, including four large bronze figures at the four corners of the Willimantic River Bridge. Even the city's official seal features a frog.



Windham Village, circa 1830s

The obsession stems from an incident that occurred more than 270 years ago, when the 1,000 or so settlers who inhabited this tiny hamlet on the Connecticut frontier lived in constant fear of Indian attack. Every day brought new rumors of carnage and bloodshed. Paranoia became pervasive.





Frog Pond, site of the battle, circa 1900

On a dark June night in 1754, the villagers of Windham were awakened by a wild symphony of screams that seemed to echo across the surrounding hills. Many thought they were being attacked by Indians. Some thought they were doomsday trumpets. Others heard drums beating in the air. Still others, terrified, thought they heard the sounds of names being shouted. Some witnesses claimed to feel their beds vibrating beneath them, but had no idea where the noise was coming from.



A $1 bill issued in 1862 by the Windham Bank

The men armed themselves with pistols and knives and ran into the darkness. Some began shooting. According to the account of the Rev. Samuel Peters, then a student at Yale, residents ran naked from their homes, fearing an earthquake or "the disintegration of nature." It was not until dawn that the true cause of the noise became clear.

The village of Windham is located on a hill, from the top of which the slope gradually descends for more than a mile to a small pond. In this small pond, the villagers found a good hundred bullfrogs. Windham had been experiencing a severe drought for some time, and all available sources of water dried up. This tiny pond was the last. Apparently, the frogs, having discovered that their water was gone, hopped to the pond and began to fight each other for this valuable resource. The noise of their battle was mistaken for an Indian raid, and the villagers panicked.



Illustration of the aftermath of the battle

The story spread throughout Connecticut, and locals became the butt of frog jokes. But wisely, instead of trying to brush it aside, they decided to embrace the story as part of their uniqueness. Soon, frogs found a place on Windham Bank currency, and the official town seal was redesigned to reflect the story. The pond that had previously been known as Follett's Pond was renamed Frog Pond. Townspeople composed poems and songs about the "Frog Fight," and grandparents enjoyed retelling the story to younger generations.

In 2000, the city opened a new Frog Bridge, featuring four bronze frogs gazing lazily down.



One of four frog statues located at each corner of the Frog Bridge

Traditionally, the frogs were said to be fighting over the dwindling waters of the pond, but some question the veracity of this explanation. In 1857, William Lawton Weaver compiled a 48-page booklet about the event, offering his own interpretation. According to Weaver, there was no drought and the pond was full of water at the time of the incident. There were also no signs of fighting between the frogs, such as visible wounds, although many dead frogs were found the next morning. So if the frogs weren't fighting, what made them scream so loudly?



Susan Z. Herrick, a researcher who specializes in amphibian biology, is trying to answer some of the questions Weaver raises. Herrick suspects that the bullfrogs were making “advertisement calls” — loud noises that male frogs make to attract females and also to announce their presence to other males. Under normal circumstances, males respect each other’s territory and the right to make mating calls. But under stress, such as when shorelines shrink and males bump into each other, losing territory, the guys probably “give up on any territory at all and focus solely on just getting a female.”