Molly Stark

Molly Stark, née Elizabeth Page, (February 16, 1737 – 1814) was the wife of American Revolutionary War general John Stark.

Elizabeth "Molly" Page was born on February 16, 1737/8 in Haverhill, Massachusetts, moved with her family to Dunbarton, New Hampshire, around 1755, and was the daughter of the first postmaster of New Hampshire, Caleb Page, and his wife Elizabeth Merrill. She married John Stark on August 20, 1758. Together they had 11 children, including their eldest son Caleb Stark. The Molly Stark house still stands in Dunbarton at Page's Corner.

Stark gained historical notoriety due to her husband's battle call of "There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!" before engaging with the British and Hessian army in the Battle of Bennington. Stark is also known for her success as a nurse to her husband's troops during a smallpox epidemic and for opening their home as a hospital during the war.

Stark is honored throughout New Hampshire and Vermont with many businesses, streets and schools bearing her name, as well as the Molly Stark State Park in Wilmington, Vermont and a statue of a gun-toting Molly which overlooks the Deerfield River. There was a gazebo next to the statue, but, during Hurricane Irene's visit in 2010 which flooded downtown Wilmington, the gazebo disappeared the inn on the other side was badly damaged, but, the statue stood tall, & never moved. Also named for her is the Molly Stark Trail, otherwise known as Route 9, which crosses southern Vermont and is thought to be the route used by General Stark on his victory march home from the Battle of Bennington. Molly Stark Mountain is one of the Green Mountain peaks on the Long Trail, just south of Camel's Hump and north of Route 17; the adjacent peak is Baby Stark.

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