Bara-Hack, CT
County: Windham
Zip Code: 6259
Latitude / Longitude: 41° 52′ 0 N, 71° 59′ 0 W
Elevation: 430 ft (131 m)
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established: 1713
Disestablished: 1890
Comments: Bara-Hack is said to have been founded in 1780 or 1790 by two Welsh settlers, Obadiah Higginbotham and John Randall, and their families. The settlement’s name, bara-hack, is a Welsh term meaning “breaking of bread”. The community was abandoned by 1890, possibly sometime after the Civil War.
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Current Status: Bara-Hack is a former village
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Bloomfield, CT
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Cuties Island, CT
County: Fairfield
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Latitude / Longitude: 41.0359°N 73.5109°W
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Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
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Comments: In 1945, a lawyer and sailor named Paul Hurlburt Smart (1915–1979) from Darien, Connecticut, purchased the island. He began building a cottage, which was completed in 1950. Fishermen and campers would use the island regardless of not having Smart’s permission. Smart spent several months away from the house, and it burned down in 1959. The island was sold to Paul and Diane Daddona in 1965.
Remains: The stone base of the house and several stone fireplaces that were inside the house still remain on the island and can be accessed by a clear-watered beach on its north shore. Its south shore is very rocky and slippery, it is very easy to slip and not be able to get up. The island is located between Cove Island and Cummings Park. both of which are in Stamford.
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Dudleytown, CT
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Latitude / Longitude: 41.8078°N 73.3523°W
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Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established: mid-1740s
Disestablished: 1800s
Comments: A local rumor, that has been frequently shared on the internet, alleges that the founders of Dudleytown were descended from Edmund Dudley, an English nobleman who was beheaded for treason during the reign of Henry VII. From that moment on, the Dudley family was placed under a curse, which followed them across the Atlantic to America. This curse is blamed for instances of crop failures and mental illness in the village. Local historians, however, have found no genealogical link between the Dudley family of Cornwall and the English nobleman, and have noted many other factual inconsistencies in the rumors.
Remains: Since the mid-1920s, the land occupied by the village has been maintained by philanthropists as a private land trust, who worked to reforest the land after decades of agricultural use.
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Remarks: The village’s decline has instead been attributed to its distance from clean drinking water and soils not well suited for cultivation. One confirmed case of suicide of a village resident took place in New York state, rather than within Cornwall. Since at least the 1990s, police in Cornwall have responded to numerous cases of vandalism, getting lost, or trespassing at night in Dudleytown. The 1999 movie, The Blair Witch Project, about a haunted forest, prompted increased interest in the allegedly haunted village, increasing the frequency of such incidents. The owners of the Dudleytown property have closed it to the public, and neighbors and town police keep a lookout for trespassers.
Gay City, CT
County: Tolland
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 41°43′34″N 72°26′24″W
Elevation: 577 ft (176 m)
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established: 1796
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Comments: AKA the village was known as Factory Hollow. The isolated hollow on the Blackledge River was first settled by religious leader Elijah Andrus and his followers in 1796. A succession of ill-fated mills marked the town’s history—the first built around 1800 and the last burning down in 1879. Village history has also been burdened with tales of community tensions caused by the free use of alcohol during twice-weekly religious services and of grisly murders gone unpunished.
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Johnsonville Village, CT
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Little Danbury, CT
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Pleasure Beach, CT
County: Fairfield
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 41.16100°N 73.1680°W
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Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established: 1892
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Comments: From 1892 until 1958, it was home to a popular amusement park of the same name. From 1904 to 1919, it was called “Steeplechase Island.” The amusement park was accessible primarily by ferry service and a wooden swing bridge built-in 1927 to carry automobiles and pedestrians. Remaining structures from the amusement park are the carousel, dodge-’em car enclosure, and beer garden (the latter was substantially altered for use as a summer theater in the 1960s).
Remains: Over 20 cottages and houses, a radio tower, several docks, several broken roads, a burnt down bridge, and a gazebo. The transmitter towers for radio station WICC (AM) are located on Pleasure Beach. The station uses an amphibious landing craft when it needs to deliver cargo.
Current Status: After a portion of the bridge burned in 1996, Pleasure Beach was cut off and became accessible only by a lengthy trek along the shoreline, or by small private boats from the mainland. This severely limited access and allowed nature to be undisturbed. As late as December 2008, Bridgeport considered a ferry service to relink the beach with the city, but this was rejected due to parking considerations and the need for a Coast Guard registered captain.
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