Who says politics is humorless? Willimantic needed a new, wider, bridge across the river that runs through the city. The Town Father's determined that a bridge with "character" was needed. Among the aesthetic touches are sculptures commissioned to commerate the town's history as "Thread City" (the local American Thread Company shipped silk and later nylon thread throughout the world for more than 150 years) along with a town legend of an incident in the 18th century when a commotion in the middle of the night convinced townfolk that the French and Indians were attacking. In the morning it was discovered that instead a recently drained pond had led to an overpopulation of frogs who battled over the remaining mating space! A frog is an element of the official Town seal. These sculptures adorn both ends of the recently opened Thread City Crossing Bridge.