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Bennington Museum, in partnership with the Pownal Historic Society, is seeking a grant from the Pomeroy Foundation to install a marker commemorating the only known witch trial in the State of Vermont.
Strobridge Park in Pownal overlooks the Hoosic River and Krieger Rocks, very near to the site where the trial of Widow Kreiger by dunking occurred. The Kreiger family were Dutch settlers who laid claim to the land in the 1730s. Juria Krieger, built a successful grist mill near the modern-day park, and in 1760 the town Proprietors voted to grant a single ownership to him in recognition of his improvements of the land. Juria Krieger, died in 1785, leaving behind his wife, Margaret, who became known as Widow Kreiger.
Widows often had no family to defend them, were not allowed to own property or work, and so were wards of the community or an anomaly if they continued to live well and thrive. Widow Krieger was accused of being an "extraordinary woman," which "brought upon her the envy and suspicion of the good people..." (T.E. Brownell) who blamed her for the sickness or death of some of their farm animals. A "safety committee" made her choose between one of two tests if she wanted to prove her innocence: climb a tree and have someone chop it down while she was in it to see if she survived, or be dropped through an ice hole into a river to see if she floated (survival in both cases would mean that she WAS a witch). She chose possible drowning in the Hoosic, and when she sank, one of her accusers dove in to retrieve her. She lived several more years, dying at the age of 66 in 1790.
Bennington Museum has received enthusiastic support from the Pownal select-board for this project, and we hope that their letter of recommendation will help to secure the Pomeroy grant. If we are successful, the Legends & Lore signage will be installed in conjunction with the upcoming Haunted Vermont exhibit slated for in 2023.
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