Crows of Coffinhurst
The Crows of Coffinhurst are a large murder of eastern American crows who have inhabited the woods of Coffinhurst Estate, high atop Garrison Hill in Madbury, New Hampshire, for as long as anyone can remember. They are purported to have taken up residence there during colonial times, after the Cocheco Massacre of 1689, and have supposedly remained ever since. Efforts to ascertain their exact number have so far proven fruitless, but estimates range from 700 to 1100.
Another legend claims the crows were sent, some say by the Devil, to protect Coffinhurst and the Coffin family. From whom or what remains unstated. Yet there is a longstanding superstition, given great credence by members of the Coffin family, that should the crows ever leave Coffinhurst, the family would surely be doomed. This ancestral myth has been memorialized in a short eighteenth century verse attributed to Phebe (Tupper) Coffin, wife of Barnabas Coffin:
Legends
Several legends and superstitions have grown up around the Coffinhurst crows. One local legend places their arrival at the time of the Cocheco Massacre, attracted by the carnage, and the chance to feed upon the many corpses that went unburied for several days, after which they remained, perhaps waiting for another such bountiful opportunity. Historically, though, wild crows were common in New Hampshire at the time, and Garrison Hill was certainly within their natural range. It is therefore highly likely that crows were present in the area before the Massacre, but nevertheless the folk story persists.Another legend claims the crows were sent, some say by the Devil, to protect Coffinhurst and the Coffin family. From whom or what remains unstated. Yet there is a longstanding superstition, given great credence by members of the Coffin family, that should the crows ever leave Coffinhurst, the family would surely be doomed. This ancestral myth has been memorialized in a short eighteenth century verse attributed to Phebe (Tupper) Coffin, wife of Barnabas Coffin:
“If e’er the crows of Coffinhurst
Are lost or fly away,
The House of Coffin, sadly cursed,
Shall fall upon that day.”
Are lost or fly away,
The House of Coffin, sadly cursed,
Shall fall upon that day.”
Apparently in response to this notion, a number of the Coffinhurst crows were domesticated in the nineteenth century, and their descendants now reside in an Aviary located on the grounds adjacent to the Rose Garden. The Aviary was built in 1865 at the request of Ruth (Hellesby) Coffin, widow of Charles Coffin, in an effort to assure that there would always be crows roosting on the Coffin property.
The Coffinhurst crows do not migrate in the fall, as many other eastern crows from northern climes do. Rather, they overwinter on Garrison Hill, occupying a secluded and relatively inaccessible roosting area in a thick stand of old growth red oak along the northeasern edge of the Coffinhurst property known as the Hanging Woods, as it is also the location of the infamous Coffin Hanging Tree. Due to the numerous unfortunate circumstances associated with the Hanging Tree in the past, the area is posted with warning signs and off limits to all, including even members of the Coffin family, making it an ideal sanctuary for the Coffinhurst crows.
Behavior
The Coffinhurst crows have on several occasions been observed to conduct “funerals,” in which they appear to grieve for a departed fellow. In such cases, large numbers gather in a cluster around the fallen body of a dead crow. They then begin calling their familiar “Caw!, Caw!” slowly and quietly at first, but gradually building to a riotous crescendo, before ceasing abruptly, after which an extended period of silence is observed. When a sufficient interval has passed, the mourning crows depart silently, one by one.The Coffinhurst crows do not migrate in the fall, as many other eastern crows from northern climes do. Rather, they overwinter on Garrison Hill, occupying a secluded and relatively inaccessible roosting area in a thick stand of old growth red oak along the northeasern edge of the Coffinhurst property known as the Hanging Woods, as it is also the location of the infamous Coffin Hanging Tree. Due to the numerous unfortunate circumstances associated with the Hanging Tree in the past, the area is posted with warning signs and off limits to all, including even members of the Coffin family, making it an ideal sanctuary for the Coffinhurst crows.
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