Prudence Wright Re-enactment at the Pepperell Covered Bridge

The Prudence Wright Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Pepperell 250th Anniversary Committee are pleased to announce a re-enactment of the “The Women Who Guarded the Bridge” on May 3, 2025.

This historic event returns by popular demand. The town’s Covered Bridge Committee re-enacted it  in 2010 at the grand re-opening of the Pepperell covered bridge. The DAR also re-enacted the event in Pepperell’s annual Fourth of July parade.

The re-enactment features Pepperell’s local heroine Prudence Wright. At the start of the American Revolution, she assembled a band of women dressed in men’s clothing. They then guarded the bridge over the Nashua River in Pepperell. Their strong will and bravery also resulted in the capture of a British spy in late April of 1775.

The 2025 re-enactment will take place at the Prudence Wright Scenic Overlook almost 250 years to the day after the event. The overlook sits alongside the historic Pepperell covered bridge on land now owned by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife.

The Prudence Wright Overlook and the Pepperell covered bridge symbolize the struggles and successes that occurred outside the battlefields of Lexington, Concord and Boston in the fight for American independence.

The day will also feature minutemen mustering for the Lexington Alarm. Cannon from the Battle of Bunker will be on display. And Tom Callinan will sing “The Ballad of Prudence Wright.”

All are invited to join us as we mark this important 250-year milestone in our history.
For more information about the DAR visit https://www.massdar.org/prudencewright.html

* * *

Learn more Revolutionary history in this complete guide to Revolutionary War Sites in New England. Brought to you by the New England Historical Society. Click here to order your copy in paperback, and here to order an ebook.