Eunice Williams Covered Bridge

Tucked away in the rolling hills of Greenfield, Massachusetts, is a rather large covered bridge with a long history to match. The Eunice Williams Covered Bridge marks the site where the life of a young mother was abruptly cut short, just hours after the Deerfield Massacre. Nowadays, legend holds that Mrs. Williams never left the place she died.

It was still dark on the morning of February 29, 1704, when 300 warriors from the French Army and their allies from the Abenaki and Mohawk tribes crept into Deerfield. The French and British were fighting Queen Anne’s War for control of the continent. The little New England town barely knew what had hit it before houses were plundered and burned, livestock were killed, 56 residents were murdered and 112 were captured. Those 112 (or those of them who would make it, that is) would spend the next few months hiking to Canada.

Among the 112 captured were the reverend John Williams, five of his seven children, and his wife, Eunice. Eunice, though, was in no shape to make the trek to Canada — she had given birth just a day before. The baby did not survive the attack.

Eunice collapsed while the group was crossing the Green River — the first obstacle on the way to Canada. The warriors were instructed to strike down anyone unable to keep up, and falling on the first leg of the trip put her in this category. She was struck down by tomahawk not far from her husband and surviving children.