with Jamie Eves, Senior Curator, the Mill Museum

During the French and Indian War, an event occurred in Windham, CT, that became known as the Windham Frog Fight, or the Battle of the Frogs. The event was soon exaggerated for political purposes, and by the mid-1800s several versions had entered folklore. As time wore on, the people of Windham took the bullfrog as their mascot and symbol, and today “the art of the frog” can be found throughout the town — most notably as (much) larger than life statues created by the sculptor Leo Jensen that guard the entrances to Windham’s celebrated Frog Bridge.

“Fun & Games? Leo Jensen’s Pop Art” is on view at the Florence Griswold Museum February 20–May 19.

Image: The Frog Pond as it appeared on a c. 1900 hand-colored post card. Photographer: Hiram Fenn of Willimantic, CT. From the collection of the Windham Textile and History Museum (the Mill Museum).