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On the edge of the Verdant Scholars Memorial Grove, stands the First Witch Statue, a mysterious monument that has stirred intrigue since its unveiling in the late 1970s. Officially known as the Sarah Osgood Statue, it was erected to honor one of the lesser-known founders of Verdant, a woman believed to have fled persecution during the Connecticut Witch Trials. However, this simple dedication took on a life of its own in the following decades.

The Story of Sarah Osgood and the First Witch Moniker

Originally, the statue was intended to showcase the progressive history of the region, celebrating the role of a woman in the founding of the town and college. Commissioned by the Verdant Historical Society, Sarah Osgood was highlighted as a trailblazer—one of the first to help establish the settlement that would eventually become Verdant. Yet, by the 1980s, the statue was largely forgotten, only occasionally profiled in the student newspaper with headlines like, “Who is this statue?”

It wasn’t until 1992 that the statue gained its famous nickname, “The First Witch.” An ambitious journalism student received documents from an anonymous source suggesting Sarah Osgood may have been none other than Tituba, a woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. According to the lore, after the trials, Tituba allegedly fled to Verdant in 1693, taking on the name Sarah Osgood in tribute to two women she had been coerced into condemning—Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne.

The revelation was timely. Verdant and Eastern Tsuga College were eager to rebrand the town as a “safe harbor” after the chaos of the Satanic Panic in the 1980s, and the notion of having the first witch as a founding figure fit neatly into the new narrative. However, this claim sparked tension with Salem, Massachusetts, as Verdant’s Chamber of Commerce and Salem authorities disputed ownership of the “first witch” moniker. Despite the controversy, the legend stuck, and the town continued to leverage the myth for its growing reputation as a dark tourism destination.

Despite its unsettling reputation, the statue remains a beloved, albeit eerie, part of Verdant’s history. Visitors and students alike continue to leave small tokens at its base, either as tributes or out of superstition, ensuring that the First Witch’s legacy continues to thrive in the shadows of Eastern Tsuga College.