In 1754, thousands of bullfrogs in Frog Pond, about a mile east of Windham Center, awoke residents with loud croaking sounds.

Many people mistook the sound for war drums or shouted words, and feared it was the French or Indians attacking the small town.

[7] In 1986, then-state legislator John Lescoe introduced a bill to fund a feasibility study for a new bridge over the Willimantic River.

[citation needed] The first design for the bridge just had the spools of thread but after the community did not approve it, an architect was hired from the state who added the frogs.

The bridge started construction in March 1999 and it opened in September 2000 but full project for the surrounding area was not completed until the Fall of 2001.