The Witch Trials of Connecticut

Every child who grows up and goes to school in my home town (Wethersfield, Connecticut) reads Elizabeth George Speare’s Newbery Medal-winning book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond. This classic work of children’s literature explores the oh-so-relevant themes of ignorance, prejudice, superstition, and mass hysteria that plague us even today. As it did for me, this novel resonates with any child who has ever been bullied or singled out for being different. It was the perfect book for me at a time of my life when I felt invalidated, small, and unworthy because I did not think, look, or act like everybody else.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond tells the story of Kit, a newly orphaned 16-year-old English woman from Barbados who sets sail on a merchant ship to live with relatives in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Kit’s first glimpse of the Connecticut settlement disheartens her. The rich sensory impressions made during her upbringing on Barbados dissipate into the drab hues of this conservative, Puritan settlement.

Compare the colors and vibrancy of Kit’s childhood home to …

The colors of the Caribbean, Barbados

The stark monotones of her first view of Wethersfield, Connecticut.

The Wethersfield Cove Warehouse

Kit’s first view of her new home would have been the Wethersfield Cove Warehouse, where sailors traded molasses from Barbados in exchange for Connecticut onions, corn, and lumber.

Kit does not even get off the boat before her independent spirit and empathetic heart bring her into conflict with local resident, Goodwife Cruff. The first day anchored offshore, Kit dives into the water to rescue a doll accidentally dropped overboard by a waifish little girl named Prudence. Kit’s intervention is not appreciated by the crew or Prudence’s mother, Goodwife Cruff, who conceives a hatred and suspicion that will play out to affect Kit’s life dramatically. Kit’s fellow passenger and divinity student John Holbrook advises her that swimming skills, unexpected for a woman in the society of her day, carry a stigma associated with witchcraft.

An inauspicious beginning in Wethersfield sets the stage for Kit’s painful coming of age. Considered an outsider, and different from other girls, she often takes refuge in the Great Meadow, where she meets Hannah Tupper, a kind old lady who has been outlawed from the Massachusetts Colony for being a Quaker. In the story, Hannah is the so-called witch of Blackbird Pond, living a meager, solitary life on the outskirts of town.

The Witches of Blackbird Pond

As fellow outcasts, Kit and Hannah develop a deep bond, even after Kit’s uncle forbids the friendship. But when winter comes, and illness sweeps through the town, children die and hysteria sets in. Distraught townspeople descend as a mob on Hannah, claiming the illness a result of her witchcraft. Kit manages to rescue Hannah from the mob, who ransack the old woman’s home before burning it to the ground.

As you might expect, this is the point where the book becomes a tale of witchcraft and adventure, with an ending I would never spoil.

Read this book. It’s great. And then, travel to Wethersfield, Connecticut and take a Witch of Blackbird Pond tour at the Buttolph Williams House, where the author imagined Kit might live with her Puritan relatives.  

The Buttolp;h Williams House in Old Wethersfield, Connecticut

Witch of Blackbird Pond Tours are offered through the month of October at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and Sundays at 1 and 3 p.m. by advance registration. To register, contact Cynthia Riccio at 860-529-0612, ext. 12, or criccio@webb-deane-stevens.org. Admission: nonmembers, $10; members, $7. The tour starts at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum at 211 Main Street in Old Wethersfield

While you are at the museum, you might want to check out the maps that illustrate the locations of events in The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Both the map and the book are available at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum Gift Shop.

You may also purchase the book at Amazon

What about you? Have you ever felt like an outsider? Or been shunned by those around you because of how you look or act? Share your story in the comments below. Believe me, many will benefit from it.

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