Dudleytown, Connecticut

Village of the Damned

DUDLEYTOWN, CT

Dudleytown is located in the hills southwest of Cornwall, and northeast of Cornwall Bridge, in Litchfield County.

This old farming community above the Housatonic River was founded in 1747 by Thomas Griffis (Griffin). Other farmers arrived, including Abiel, Barzillai, Gideon, Abijah and Martin Dudley. It is not certain if they were all brothers as some claim, but quite possible. As more folks arrived the name of the small, tight-knit agricultural community began to reflect the Dudleys, and the area became known as Dudleytown.

It never became a true town or village with church, school and businesses, but more of a community of hardscrabble farmers and several mills (plaster, grist and lumber). The oak and beech trees had to be cleared, rocks moved and fields carved out of the poor soil. Crops that were attempted included corn, flax, rye, wheat and other food crops. Lumbering and charcoal manufacturing also contributed to the economy of the community. The early log cabins were eventually replaced by wood-framed buildings, and the community grew slowly. At its peak about two dozen or so families were on site, and the total population probably never passed 100. For such a tiny community, it sure has a big story.

That story has a dark, more sinister side. There are several persistent legends that the land and/or the community is haunted or cursed.

One legend claims the Dudleys had a rich uncle in England, that is said to have been ruthless and abusive, even having put people to death. That story says that one of the unfortunate persons about to be executed cursed the Dudley family before his head was separated from the rest of his body.

Another version of the story claims that back in England, Dudleys were on the wrong side of the "in crowd." Somehow three generations managed to have their heads removed, and they also caused a "Lady's" head to join theirs. Another Dudley is said to have returned from France, with a "gift" for the English -- The Plague. One of the last remaining Dudleys decided it best to leave while he still retained his head, came to America, and it is claimed the Dudleys of Dudleytown are descended from him. It is through this line of folks the "curse" came to town.

Other folks persist in claiming the "Dudleytown Curse" is tied to the supernatural. Those supernatural connections didn't want a town to be on the site, and did everything to discourage the residents.

The legend is fueled by so-called "facts" as folks in Dudleytown began getting sick, going insane, or dying weird and unusual deaths. Ghosts and other creepy-crawlies are rumored to have been seen in the nearby forest, and the fear caused many to pack it up and "get out of town." It was also claimed that every seven years the curse would strike, and somebody would die of unusual causes. Some of the deaths blamed on the curse included --

1774 -- Disease swept through the community, killing about half the people in "town".

1792 -- Gershom Hollister fell from a barn being built.

1799 -- Abiel Dudley died at age 90, a senile old man with no kids to take care of him. They said he was insane. But he was 90!

1804 -- Sarah Faye Swift was killed by lightning. Actually their home where she died was not even in Dudleytown, but out on the Cornwall Bridge-Warren Road.

1813 -- Nathaniel Carter, a Dudleytown denizen moved to an area near Binghamton, NY. Shortly after moving there, Nathaniel, his wife and baby were killed by Indians, while two older daughters and a son were abducted. Also that year another epidemic swept through killing more folks.

William Tanner, who happened to live in Gershom Hollister's old house was claimed to have been a bit "off-kilter". But then again, he died at age 104. Senile?

Mary Cheney the wife of Horace Greeley was born in Dudleytown in 1814, and is another "claimed victim" of the curse. She died of lung disease in 1872.

In actuality, those deaths were not unusual for an American Frontier community. But, whether or not the curse and the legends are true or not is not the point of this sketch. Reality laughs in the face of the legend, but even so, it persists. It is said that actor Dan (Ghost Busters) Akroyd proclaimed in an interview that Dudleytown is America's most haunted ghost town.

In reality, however, it seems the original founders of the community chose a poor location. Dudleytown sat on a glacier-scrubbed shelf about 1000 feet higher than nearby Cornwall. High hills (Bald Mountain, Woodbury Mountain and Coltsfoot Triplets) surrounded the site, blocking the sun. When agriculture was tried, the farms did poorly, mainly due to the reduced amounts of direct sunlight, rocks, extreme weather conditions, rocks, thin soil, rocks, high winds, rocks, and lack of water. Did I mention rocks? Also the soil was unsuited for agriculture, and the site being 1000 feet above the surrounding plains and communities had nothing really going for it other than a very scenic location.

Curse or no curse, the last citizen left by 1900. Remains include cellar holes, rock walls, and rubble. In reality, any town that can hang tough for 150 years can't be haunted. Let the ghost seekers find another spot, 'cause Dudleytown is a member of Ghost Town USA. We know the truth, and the truth is that Dudleytown was nothing more than a close-knit agricultural community that failed.

Nothing more than that!

NOTE: In 2005, I received an E-mail from a gentleman who has published a book on Dudleytown, and he says the site is currently CLOSED and trespassers will be prosecuted.

This was our GHOST TOWN OF THE MONTH for May 1999.

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FIRST POSTED: May 01, 1999

LAST UPDATED: Mar 20, 2005

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