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Dust in the Wind -

A Guide to American Ghost Towns

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Connecticut is one of our earliest states, and one of the original 13 colonies. Even though this tiny state is seldom written about in ghost town lore, its rich heritage, changing economics and long-time heritage has produced a wealth of faded towns that were once based on manufacturing, fishing, and other natural resource-based industry. As times changed and needs changed, the reason for many of these old communities died with the industry, and the towns soon followed suit.

As is typical with most eastern state ghost towns, you won't find stereotypical sites here. What is here is faded towns that are still lived in, and may not even look like a ghost. However, the population may be many times less than what the town supported in its boom days. Also if the site has been totally abandoned, all that may remain might be memories in a plowed field or covered under the asphalt of a highway. Other sites may be a few caving cellar holes and foundation outlines hidden in the woods.

A lot of local research will be needed to ferret out the ghost towns of Connecticut, but they are there. I have not personally visited this state, so the sites listed may differ now from when I obtained the information on them. If you live in CT or have visited any of these places, please send me an update.  I can then update this list and my files.

HELP!  (NEW FEATURE) Please check here to find a list of ghost towns that various contacts are looking for.  IF you have any information on these places please e-mail me and I can respond back to those looking for info on these ghosts.

Thank you, and enjoy!

PLEASE NOTE: 

Where photos are indicated thusly (PHOTO!), please use your browser’s “BACK” button to return to this page.  More photos will be added over time.

ALLYN’S POINT

New London Co.

One time coal shipping port. Actual location not determined

BLACK ROCK FORT

New Haven Co.

South of I-95, on east side overlooking Newhaven Harbor, near Fort Nathan Hale.

BURRVILLE

Litchfield Co.

Former iron foundry town.

CAMP DUTTON

Litchfield Co.

Off SH 63 on Camp Dutton Road, south of Litchfield.

COBALT

Middlesex Co.

A class D community with a 1990 population of 350. This faded town is at junction of SH 66/151, on east side of Connecticut River, six miles east of Middletown.

COTTON HOLLOW

Hartford Co.

(The) Cotton Hollow preserve (is located) in the Nayaug area of South Glastonbury.  Approaching from Main Street up the road adjacent to roaring brook, there were once several factories including a paper mill, grist mill and gun powder mill and all of the homes of workers surrounding a dam which powered one of these mills.  All that is left now is the remains of the paper mill on the edge of roaring brook, and a few foundations along the trail on the other side of the brook. 

Contributed by Matt McKeon (06/06/2002)

DUDLEYTOWN

Litchfield Co.

In the hills southwest of Cornwall, and northeast of Cornwall Bridge. This class B farming town sits on a hill above the Housatonic River. It was established in 1747, but the high hills around the site kept extra sunlight out, and the farms did poorly due to thin soil, high winds, and lack of water.  It was claimed that the "Dudleytown Curse" prevented affluence, and was claimed to have supernatural connections. Those connections supposedly didn't want a town to be on the site. It is claimed by some, that every seven years the curse would strike, and somebody would die of unusual causes. Curse or no curse, the last citizen left in 1900.  Remains include cellar holes, rock walls, and rubble.  This was our Ghost Town of the Month for May 1999.

FLOYDVILLE

Hartford Co.

“I lived there in the late 50s and early 60s. Floydville lies between Granby and East Granby. Surrounding towns are Tariffville and Simsbury. Floydville was mostly poor tobacco workers working for American Sumatra Tobacco (A.S.T), which was bought out by Cubro and now raises trees. Train tracks divided Floydville from Granby and East Granby, Floydville did not have its own town hall or post office.  The warehouse where they sorted broadleaf during the summer (still stands). A.S.T would bring in Pennsylvania (workers) to work the fields.  They would sleep in barracks in the Warehouse.

Contributed by Dave Bergeron (May 29, 2005)

FORT GRISWOLD

New London Co.

In Groton, at Monument Street & Park Ave. EXIT 85 off I-95, just east of Downtown.

FORT NATHAN HALE

New Haven Co.

South of I-95, on east side overlooking New Haven Harbor.

GAY CITY

AKA - Factory Hollow

Tolland Co.

Gay City State Park, Hebron Ct.  What I remember: Although it is only 10 or so miles from my home and I drive by the entrance now and then, I haven't been in there since my children wee small and I took them to wade in the pond.  I've read that there are sunken foundations of homes some in the woods and people with metal detectors sometimes check things out. It was a small village but for some reason people left it until there was nobody left and the houses decayed.

Contributed by: Nancy Morin, Dec 30, 2005

This former milling town was originally settled in 1796 by a religious sect.  A sawmill was build along the Black Ledge River, and it was followed by a woolen mill and a paper mill.  By the Civil War, the mills had burned and the town declined.  By the 1880s it was dead, and the site turned over to the state in 1953 for use as a state park. (GBS)

For additional details on the community see this WEBSITE.

GREYSTONE

Litchfield Co.

Former manufacturing town.

LOWER CITY

Litchfield Co.

On SH 63, just north of its junction with SH 43, eight miles northwest of Goshen.

MERROW

Tolland Co.

On SH 32, two miles north of Mansfield Depot, 13 miles east of Manchester. This class D manufacturing town has faded from the days when its mills bustled with activity. Remains of this tiny community of 250 people include many abandoned buildings and ruins.

MILLINGTON GREEN

Middlesex Co.

A class B lumbering community in the eastern part of the county, midway between Middletown and New London. The lumber was sent to shipbuilders along the Connecticut River. All that remains are cellar holes and rubble.

MT. RIGA

Litchfield Co.

Iron forge town that faded after 1847.

NEWGATE PRISON/SIMSBURY COPPER MINE

Hartford Co.

A class C/F (restored-National Historic Landmark-entry fee) location on Newgate Road, about two miles north of SH 20, midway between Granby and East North Granby.

Copper ore was discovered and first worked here in 1707. It ran from 12-50% copper, but due to limited knowledge of copper mining and refining that had to be done in England, the mine ceased operation in 1773, shortly after the Colony of Connecticut purchased the site for use as a prison. The prisoners were used to work the mines until it closed. Later they were used to manufacture nails and shoes, and the underground workings were used for cells. 

Three years later, in October 1776, the prison was designated the first state prison in the new country, and from 1775 through 1782, it was used to hold captured British soldiers and British sympathizers. In September 1827 the prison was abandoned, and the prisoners moved to a brand new facility in Wethersfield.  

The state purchased the site from a private party in 1968, and in 1972 a stairway was built to allow access to the mine for tourists. Today the mine is a National Historic Landmark, is listed on the National Register, and is a state historic landmark.

PETTIBONE’S TAVERN

Hartford Co.

Although this is not a ghost town per se, I thought the information interesting, as it does pertain to an old roadhouse/tavern that is not part of the community of Simsbury.  (GBS)

Information contributed by Eslie McDermott (10/26/2004).

As legend goes, Pettibone's Tavern in Simsbury - formerly the Chart House Restaurant - was originally built in the 1700's, and was the sight of a grisly murder (committed) by the owner Mr. Pettibone. The victim was his wife who is said to still haunt the place today. (What is now) the women's bathroom used to be Mrs. Pettibone's bedroom, and (was) the site of her murder. Visitors have reported the lights flickering on and off, and the faucets in the bathrooms turning on and off as well. When the place was first bought the new owners discovered a picture of the former family with a female's head cut out of it.

POQUETANUCK

New London Co.

It is at the junction of SH 117 and SH 2A, five miles southeast of Norwich.  A once bustling Thames River port and trading center that has faded from its glory days in the 1800s. Many ruins and unoccupied buildings remain in this class D location.

SOUTHVILLE

Fairfield Co.

A once prosperous manufacturing community.

WELLS WOODS

Tolland Co.

On Wells Wood Road, east of Hebron and a half-mile south of SH 66. All that remain of this old hamlet are cellar holes, stone walls and granite foundation stones.

Historians estimate that there may be as many

as 50,000 ghost towns scattered across the United States of America. During the next five years, Gary B. Speck Publications will be publishing unique state, regional, and county guides called

The Ghost Town Guru's Guide

to the Ghost Towns of *** ™

These original guides are designed for anybody interested in

ghost towns. Whether you are a casual tourist looking for a new and different place to visit, or a hard-core ghost town researcher, these guides will be just right for you. With over 30 years of research behind them, they will be a welcome addition to any

ghost towner's library.

Thank you, and we'll see you out on the Ghost Town Trail!

For more information on the ghost towns of CONNECTICUT,

contact us at

Ghost Town USA.

E-mailers, PLEASE NOTE:

Due to the tremendous amount of viruses, worms and “spam,” out there, I no longer open any e-mails with unsolicited attachments, OR messages on the subject lines with “Hey”, “Hi”, “Need help”, “Help Please”, “???”, or blank subject lines, etc.  If you do send E-mail asking for information, or sharing information, PLEASE indicate the appropriate location AND state name, or other topic on the “subject” line.  THANK YOU!  :o)

IMPORTANT

These listings and historical vignettes of ghost towns, near-ghost towns and other historical sites in CONNECTICUT above are for informational purposes only, and should NOT be construed to grant permission to trespass, metal detect, relic or treasure hunt at any of the listed sites.

If the reader of this guide is a metal detector user and plans to use this guide to locate sites for metal detecting or relic hunting, it is the READER'S responsibility to obtain written permission from the legal property owners. Please be advised, that any state or nationally owned sites will probably be off-limits to metal detector use. Also be aware of any federal, state or local laws restricting the same.

When you are exploring the ghost towns of CONNECTICUT, please abide by the

Ghost Towner's Code of Ethics.