Dudleytown, Connecticut

Dudleytown, Connecticut
Former populated place
Dudleytown, Connecticut Location within the state of Connecticut Show map of Connecticut Dudleytown, Connecticut Dudleytown, Connecticut (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 41°48′28″N73°21′08″W / 41.8078°N 73.3523°W / 41.8078; -73.3523
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
County	Litchfield
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern(EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
GNIS feature ID	1931925 [1]

Excerpt of 1984 United States Geological Survey map, Dudleytown Road and Dudleytown Hill appears near bottom. Cornwall Bridge is at top left.

Another 1984 USGS excerpt

Dudleytown is an abandoned settlement, located in a valley known as the Dark Entry Forest, in northwestern Connecticut in the United States, best known today as a ghost town. Due to vandalism and trespassers, the site is not open to the public.

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. Only a few traces, such as cellar holes, remain of the original village. Due to rumors of ghost activity beginning in the 1980s, the village site has been subject to frequent vandalism, and the owners have since closed the land to the public. ^[2]

History

Dudleytown was never an actual town. The name was given at an unknown date to a portion of Cornwall that included several members of the Dudley family. The area that became known as Dudleytown was settled in the early 1740s by Thomas Griffis, followed by Gideon Dudley and, by 1753, Barzillai Dudley and Abiel Dudley; Martin Dudley joined them a few years later. Other families also settled there. ^[3]

As with every other part of Cornwall, Connecticut, Dudleytown was converted from forest to farm land. Families tilled the land for generations. Located on top of a high hill {all other references say it was in a valley}, Dudleytown was not ideally suited for farming. When more fertile and spacious land opened up in the Midwest in the mid-19th century, and as the local iron industry wound down, Cornwall's population declined. ^[4]

Geography and conservation

The village was located a few miles south of the Cornwall Bridge neighborhood of Cornwall. It was located in a valley, known as the Dark Entry Forest, due to the shadows caused by the mountains surrounding the village and access road. The town's abandonment has meant that barely any ruins of the original township survive. ^[5] During the early 20th century, old farms in Cornwall were sold to New Yorkers seeking a better life in the countryside, including Dudleytown, which has been privately owned since 1924 by Dark Entry Forest, Incorporated. The village site is today closed to the public and anyone found trespassing is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law by the Connecticut State Police and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. ^{[ citation needed ]}

In promoting the land trust to investors, a March 1924 prospectus for the Dark Entry Forest stated: "This society is planned to promote forestation, to run a wood mill, to promote conservation of bird, animal and wildflower life, and to afford a playground for you and your children and your children’s children." ^[4] Soon after acquisition, the owners planted thousands of trees. During the 1930s, New York's Skidreiverein Club spent their winter weekends skiing on trails they built in the area; in the summers, they canoed down the Housatonic River. ^[6] Horse riding camps for children were also held on the site. ^[4]

Rumors and vandalism

Dudleytown is said to be haunted. A local rumor that has been frequently shared on the internet alleges the founders of the town 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. ^[7] This curse is blamed for instances of crop failures and mental illness, as well as several purported violent deaths in the village. Local historians have found no genealogical link between the Dudley family of Cornwall and the English nobleman and noted many other factual inconsistencies in the rumors. Records have shown the land was originally occupied by the Mohawk Nation, as sacred ground. The village's decline has instead been attributed to its distance from clean drinking water and unsuitable soil for cultivation. One confirmed case of suicide of a village resident took place in New York state rather than within Cornwall. ^{[7] [8]}

Since the 1990s, police in Cornwall have responded to numerous cases of vandalism. In a 1993 interview with Playboy, actor Dan Aykroyd referred to Dudleytown as the "most haunted place on earth". ^[9] In the same interview, he mistakenly stated that Dudleytown was in Massachusetts. ^[10] The 1999 movie, The Blair Witch Project , about a haunted forest, prompted increased interest in the allegedly haunted village. It is legally off limits. This increased the frequency of such incidents. The owners of the Dudleytown's property have closed it to the public. ^{[7] [11] [12]}

References

1. "Dudleytown, Connecticut". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. Campbell, Susan; Bendici, Ray; Heald, Bill (2010). Connecticut Curiosities, 3rd: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff. Globe Pequot. pp. 3–4. ISBN   978-0-7627-5988-0.
3. Harriet Lydia Clark (1989). True Facts About Dudleytown. Cornwall Historical Society.
4. "Dark Entry Forest". Cornwall Historical Society. 2012. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
5. Chamberlain, Samuel (1962). The New England Image . Hastings House.
6. Guest, Raechel. "Skidreiverein Club". Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
7. Winkler, Robert (October 30, 2002). "Birder's Journal: Old Curse Haunts New England Forest". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on November 3, 2002.
8. Dudley, Gary P. "The Deaths at Dudleytown?". LegendOfDudleytown.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
9. "Playboy Interview: Dan Aykroyd". iPlayboy. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
10. Citro, Joseph A. "Cursed in New England: More Stories of Damned Yankees". Google Books. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
11. Siedzik, Jason (9 December 2011). In Cornwall, Dudley Town Makers Arrested, Litchfield County Times
12. Rierden, Andi (29 October 1989). THE VIEW FROM: DUDLEYTOWN; A Hamlet That Can't Get Rid of Its Ghosts, The New York Times

Further reading

• Edward Comfort Starr (1926). A History of Cornwall, Connecticut. Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor. pp. 26–27. This book relates the story of the Dudleytown curse, and may have been the inspiration behind later accounts.
• Barlow, Bart (October 26, 1980). "A Lost Town Populated By Legends". New York Times.(subscription required)