Join us for the dedication of a Legends & Lore roadside marker in Pownal, Vermont recognizing the only known Vermont witch trial. Pownal Historical Society member, Joyce Held, and Jamie Franklin, curator at Bennington Museum, worked in tandem with Vermont Folklife to bring an obscure and dark part of Southern Vermont history to light, with funding from the William G Pomeroy Foundation.
The plaque will be placed at Strobridge Park along the Hoosick River in North Pownal, overlooked by Kreiger Rocks, near the site where Widow Kreiger was thought to have been “tried.” The marker, which will be installed late this summer in conjunction with the Museum’s Haunted Vermont exhibit, will read as follows:
WITCH TRIAL
WIDOW KRIEGER SAID TO ESCAPE
DROWNING IN THIS RIVER WHEN
TRIED AS A WITCH CA. 1785.
ACCUSERS BELIEVED WITCHES
FLOATED. SHE SANK & WAS SAVED
A public dedication ceremony will take place on Saturday, September 16th at Strobridge Park at 1pm.
Exact Location: Zero Dean Road, just before the Bridge off of Route 346 in North Pownal
The event will feature tasty treats, music, a “witches walk” parade across the bridge, and kids activities before and after the dedication.