To all of my amazing fans and supporters, I am truly grateful and humbled by all of the support and donations throughout the years that have kept Obscure Vermont up and running. Vermonts roads are pretty regulated, so there isnt much here in terms of weird or kitschy personalized properties that people like to put into thebroad category of roadside Americana which includes a perpetually growing compilation of the same genre (nonstandardized) but vary widely in sentiment and imagery. The tired mandecided to take shelter in a cavernous recess in Wizards Glen. They sit still and quiet as life around these places passes them by. So they moved into the ranch next door, which honestly didnt look much better. Hogbacks highest elevation was about 2,400 feet (the base area being at around 1,900), which helped preserve the natural snowfall much better than lower area ski hills, which made it so beloved. Experience Vermont in the olden days at these historic places. And it makes sense its aesthetically the type of place where strangehappenings cant be easily dismissed. I really like Pownal its seriously one of the coolest towns in the state! Realizing she was stuck fast, she began to holler for help. Now to get to the bottom of things. A Facebookcommenter who knew that I was attempting to get to the bottom of this sent me a message and shared a personal account with me. Eventually, we happened upon a state park and camped out for the night on the last available night of the state park season. Exploring the historical odditywith Eric also meant that I got some of the inside details of its strange and seemingly nefarious local lore that has more or less simultaneously garnered such a reputation and earned it some infamywith areayouth, curious visitors and allegedly bad dudes that arent necessarilyconnected to the mafia. As these stories often end, the miners were never compensated, and the company went bankrupt by 1888 because ironically, they werent able to meet theirobligations because of all the damning facts pointing to the companys inevitable death. It was fun scrutinizing over mid-century furniture, beds, rotary phones and even nob television sets that could still be observed, and better yet, mildly free of vandalism. Their grandson Thaddeus founded the school and this building is now used as a dormitory. When the news hit that this place burned down, people started commiserating. Here, the Lamoille River and gravity worked together to form about 5 waterfalls in a few miles of one another constricted ina rocky gorge, before relaxing at West Milton. The story goes that Emily died a gruesome death at the bridge and now her spirit haunts those who traverse the bridge. The ramshackle structure was worth the potential threat of tetanus. Many establishments started out as simple farmhouses that offered kosher meals and a place to sleep, attracting mainly urbanites who wanted to part from the din of acity crawling with bodies. Residents would travel by rowboat to their favorite pub at the other side of the lake. This high-style Queen Anne Victorian Era mansion in Cuttingsville features one of the most exquisite mausoleums, created to commemorate the builder's late wife and daughter. Share your thoughts and inquiries with us and post your pictures in the comments! by ; 28 kwietnia 2023 The name Gulf interested me before I even began to think about Wizards Glen. We pulled over in some tall grass and began to tromp our way through the threshold. The house is very strong structurally, but quite damaged on the inside. Seriously, its rumored that Springfield, Vermont was such an adversary, that Hitler allegedly put it on his number two spot to bomb into oblivion had his Nazi party of terrorists ever atrocitied their way over here to America. Its where my love of the weird and the offbeat began from insidea quiet suburban bedroom, and began to proliferate outwards which would become one of my most distinguished aspects of my personality, and why this blog now exists. Pownals history is a small magnum opus for yarn spinners and history nerds like me because so much has seemingly happened there, while parts of town look like so much hasnt happened there, and Im sure even more tales molder away in the towns backroad hovels and neat antiquated farms. I observed some older trail maps, and discovered that Hogback had a unique layout. The ground is loaded with iron, or, an iron-oxide compound called red ochre that makes a good pigment. That, and cheap air travel could take people to other places for around the same price as a trip upstate. Walking around coats your boots in slick sludge and stubble white mold that has been reclaiming the buckling pool tiles. Or are you a Vermonter in general? Back on the road, the forests occasionally break up a little and you got a positioning glimpse that you were right in the middle of the green mountain chain. Or, she could face trial by water which meant that a group of townsfolk cut a hole through the ice of the Hoosic River, bound her, and then tossed the poor woman into the frigid current. And sure enough, there is a walled up door in the basement that once did lead to a tunnel. Finding old religious paraphernalia hidden in Vermont buildings isnt rare it seems. **Id especially recommend my favorite of his photos, a set of slimy and disused rails still can be found underground in the Ely mines. This is the end of our list of abandoned places in Vermont. He also said that some of his friendsclaimed to get inside, but couldnt recall any more than that. While some of these may creep you out and send you running in the other direction, others have developed a true sense of beauty from the impact of nature and weather. I figured Id show you before I clean this all up. On the banks of the town's engine; the Black River . Not only did she live through the ordeal, but Im assuming things were really awkward afterward. 182K subscribers in the abandoned community. Social network for urban explorers. Hyde Manor had a bar, a dance hall, a bowling alley, a top-notch golf course, and more. The miners, who were waking up by then, noticed the national guard soldiers walking around town, and went out to converse with them. It is a must-see attraction on the grounds. Some weeks, he was bringing home more money than most Vermonters were making in a year. But by now, the tantalizing word that copper was underneath Vermonts hills was out, and more people wanted in. On his first day on the job, he decided that manufacturing so many different things was stupid, and declared that from that point onwards, J&L would only manufacture one thing; the eponymous Hartness Flatbed Turret Lathe, which he invented himself the machine could shape wood, metal, or other materials by means of a rotating drive which turns the piece being worked on against changeable cutting tools. As a graphic design major, I really appreciated the headlining typography. The early morning wintrycold was still hanging over the misty hills ofBolton flats in a hundred shades of blue as we departed for southern New England. The next morning, I was as rested as sleeping on a tent pitched on a gravel bed in 18-degree weather would get me, and we were off. Its a shame some people are using these sites / postings for such purposes. Yes. Seriously, even the small cost equivalent to a gas station cup of coffee would help greatly! It grew to offer 400 rooms, a golf course, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, a ski chalet and trails, an indoor skating rink, conference rooms, a nightclub and theater that hosted notable Jewish Alps entertainers of the day like Buddy Hackett and Robert Goulet, and a restaurant and bar. Though we live in a world that has largely been explored, mapped and reclaimed, these human-made spaces become utterly fascinating after their functionality ceases to exist. Mr. Paddock dubbed whatever it was the stone-throwing devil, word got out, and for a brief time, it caused a sensation. One of the coolest things I found was the former track photographers suite, which was still filled with heaps of developed and undeveloped film of the old races. This chateau-style Victorian mansion was built by Lambert Packard for William Paddock Fairbanks and his wife Rebecca. Those who know me well are aware of the great cosmic relief that I often feel far more in my element in a location that is off limits to society, as opposed to legally being inside a dimly lit bar underneath a perfume of cigarettes and sweat. What hasnt been torn down today of those aforementioned hotels were left to transition into decrepitude, and strangelymemorialize a haunting tradition of wreck that has plagued more than this town. But finding a gulf outside of Vermont, even only in the form of a street name, was sort of cool to me. We go in in the winter when the water is frozen and you can walk on ice since the shafts are full of water. Ill have to stop in and chat with her in person next time Im in the area. The largest railway in New England has its main headquarters here still, that sits directlyin the decrepit shadow of the abandonedshop buildings I was walking around, among a few other places with no-frillssignage and creepy vacant looking front entrances. It is estimated that cleaning up the site will cost around $200 million. And yes, then they return to steal it and sell it! Until then, thanks for the inspiration Milton. While Im on the topic of gulfs, Id highly recommend checking out what may be Vermonts most beautiful; Granville Gulf, a rugged and impressive wilderness area of moss laden cliffs, ferns and waterfalls. Seriously, even the small cost equivalent to a gas station cup of coffee would help greatly! But the name has proven very successful at sticking into the flypaper of local culture. We were exploring for four hours or so, and the cops never came, which was great, because this fascinating localehas easily turned into one of my fondest explores. Casual tourists enjoyed the racetrack, too, and I was told it was a popular stop for folks whod take Sunday drives through the mountains of Southern Vermont. OSheas Preservation in Pink blog has an entire section titled Abandoned Vermont with photos and stories about old and abandoned inns, stores, schoolhouses, businesses and houses she has explored across the state. And this pattern continued. A few old buildings, the rusted bones of an old lift line and a squint-to-make-out overgrown ski trail could still be traced. We appeared to be looking at the inside of the U shape of the building, and from that perspective, we could see just how bad the exterior damage was. This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a research, development, and demonstration program concerning abandoned oil and gas wells. Its just not as exciting.. This hardscrabble lifestyle may very well have infused our culture with that independent-minded, self-sufficient ethos, devising that you-cant-get-there-from-here Vermonter who is crusty, stoic and has abundant old school common sense. It is a non-profit center for mental health and addiction. In 1916, Hartness provided the startup capital for the Lovejoy Tool Company, which awesomely still survives and operates in Springfield! As I was gazing at the bridge, I noticed a strange white sign across the bridge that was put up on a small weedy embankment that welcomed me to Medburyville, and gave me a precise census of 31 people and 26 pets who I guess lived somewhere nearby in the rural area. This means that a door in the basement wall would have lead to some sort of subterranean chamber, which may have been a tunnel. Lavish homes with famous owners sometimes end up abandoned. But despite dwindling farms around the country, smaller horticultural farms are taking root all over the state and growing mostly supporting modern-day farm to table fads, which means Vermonts emerging restaurants and craft breweries can come blazing through wearing the future on its sleeve. I had seen photos of thisbeautiful dereliction online, but I was just as awed, as the stagnant cold inside stung my hands. Now, people could go to Florida or Europe and didnt need to settle for the Catskills. Im not sure if that name is superlative or not, but I suppose it doesnt really matter because the view is awesome. The latest census says Vermont has 11,355 homes falling into an "other vacant" category. Some parts of the train cars and the engines are still junked somewhere on the mine property to this day. Observingthe beaver dam, I couldnt help but wonder if it was around when the mines were active, or more of a recent addition after the chaotic operations became ghosts. But at the slow speeds you are forced to crawl on this winding roadway, it feels much longer. One of the biggest curiosities about this property to me was the name of its access road. It was a creepy explore, with lots of eerie sounds that croaked and carried through the wide spaces and dark crevices. rained down on his house and outbuildings, but neighboring properties were completely unaffected. It is also the site where where Brianna Maitland's abandoned car was discovered when she disappeared in 2004. Local lore has it that when the reservoir is low, a slimy church steeple from the former village is exposed, but I didnt see anything that day that looked out of place in a reservoir. Today, the regionislittered with abandoned properties fantasies of blight whose visages bearslovenly expressions that welcome vandals, explorers, arsonists, scrappers and teenagers who are excited by the prospect of a paintball game or a place to drink cheap beer. Police said an abandoned vehicle found in a parking lot near the New Boston Rail Trail belongs to a missing Vermont man. Why was this book concealed under the floor? To my delight and surprise combination, if you bushwhack through some waist-high tangle weeds and growth, you can still find some of the old ski trails, which were still hikable! Id also really love to grow this blog and present unique, meaningful, and extraordinary content thats a departure from the same regurgitated stuff you find everywhere else online, and your help would be hugely appreciated! In 1876, Smith Elys grandson Ely Goddard would take over the mine. Obscure Vermont is funded entirely on generous donations that you the wonderful viewers and supporters have made. It wasnt until some time later, after this project had been pushed to the back of my to-do listthat something came up which immediately pulled it from memory. In the Algonquinviewpoint,Hobbomocco is actually a side or nuance of the natural world, a potential source of dangerous visions and power, which can be obtained through communication, sort of similar to Voodoo deities, and how its said that with enough persuasion, you can persuadethem to either carry out good or evil intentions. Massachusetts is all paved suburbia and Dunkin Donuts, Maine has the ocean and fanfare for an acquired taste called Moxie, and Vermont is a bunch of farms and home to Ben and Jerrys. Hogback was one of the longest lasting family owned traditional ski resorts in the state, and arguably is one of the best lost ski areas in Vermont to explore, though youd probably guess either of these things while driving by the few diminutive red buildings sitting in tangled underbrush along a slight rise above the wide shoulder of route 9. Itll be interesting to see what comes along and I really hope that itll be something that will serve Precision Valley with dignity for another century. Or maybe Im just being cynical. Job-seeking soldiers started coming back home, while machine tool contracts stopped coming in and the towns prosperity stalled, before succumbing to a steady multi-decade death rattle, leaving Springfields postmortem giving off incredulous vibes that anything Ive talked about in the above paragraphs ever happened here. Houses are often abandoned because people cannot afford to keep up with the maintenance. If a nearby community, like Brattleboro, had an outing club, they probably went to Hogback. It was evident that there was, in fact, more to see, and it did extend backwards, but I knew it wasnt what I was looking for. I was at a loss here. By 1833, the aforementioned Richardson farm was surveyed by an Issac Tyson, described asprobably the leading industrial chemist of the day. Which one is your favorite? A Vermont gulf is a landlocked one found in our mountains. Another notable person with alleged wild talents was Clara Jepson, Pownals official seer a profession that you dont hear that much of in contemporary times (except maybe advertised on television at 3 AM). The Most Haunted Places in Vermont | Haunted Rooms America So on a beautiful autumn day, I met up with her and she led me through some overgrown tangle woods of nettles, dead apple trees and mangey looking cedar trees that turned the area into a dark entry. Its on these explores that I like to attempt a little amateur forensic archaeology, and try to pick at the bones. So the fabled tunnel is now proven to exist. He found William LeRoy Bryant, a student at the University of Vermont, who joined J&L in 1897 as a draftsman and worked closely with Hartness on the cross-sliding-head turret lathe, which is where Bryant took an interest in grinding. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. I never expected Obscure Vermont to get as much appreciation and fanfare as its getting, and Im truly grateful and humbled. I liked all the patches of forest in between some pleasantly up-keptold houses, it gave the area lots of character. Thanks for bringing up a great point. And if you are interested in dining at the oldest restaurant and tavern in all of Vermont, make a reservation at the Ye Olde Tavern, founded in 1790. But some of these ghosts were real. The hotel was sold in 1962, and it was closed down for good in 1973. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Hartness and his prowess fueled Springfields combustive growth from the turn of the 20th century until well past World War II, and he did it by introducing one auspicious product after another, each named for its creator. Some are only accessible by kayak, weather permitting, and offer creepy claustrophobicexcursions into dark spaces. Human beings are the real monsters. The continuously shape-shifting property grew to massive scales as the railroad industry became a future facing wonder, as growing mill towns and their populations created a ravenous market. Dusk was humming up, and as we were getting ready to leave, three boys on ATVs zoomed through the parking lot, and a Nissan Altima full of teenagers parked in the weeds in front of the building and had an oh shit! moment as we pulled out and all locked eyes as they were removing copious packs of Twisted Tea out of their trunk, while nearby, a young twenty-something couple was awkwardly trying to wedge a sign they had taken into the backseat of their Ford Focus. Vermont Archives - Old Houses Under $50K Thirty-two years of fluctuatingNew England weatherand zero upkeep had rotted out thedraftyinterior. In the cellar wallsof the Clark mansion is the clear outline of a door that sits well below the grassy lawn,now sealed up. Theres an endless sense of spiritual presence, as the place is kind of one big gravesite for all the lives lost during its 200-year history. Though Byland did note that it seemed that conditions at Elizabeth treated the miners far more humanely than what workers over at the Ely mine had to endure. Listed by Leslie Drown of Leslie Drown Real Estate LLC. A few different arson attempts were successful around 2003 and 2007 and consumed a few smaller outbuildings. The old Dutchburn farmhouse in Montgomery. Abandoned Vermont: Down Forgotten Backroads, published in 2021, brings readers on a journey down roads throughout Vermont where once loved homes and flourishing farms and businesses now sit empty, forgotten and untouched as nature reclaims them. As Obscure Vermont has grown, Ive been growing with it, and the developing attention is keeping me earnest and pushing me harder to be more introspective and going further into seeking out the strange. And speaking of the racetrack, it also seems to be the last big spike in Pownals histogram, for the time being anyway. A green 1915 iron truss bridge first caught my eye, because it was obviously abandoned, as indicated by all the trees growing through it. Hartness and Porters mutual fascination with astronomy partially inspired this quantum leap, which is why Hartness wanted Porter to run the comparator business, but Porter was interested in literal bigger heights and decided to instead move to California, where he helped design the Palomar Observatory telescope, so in a rare move, Hartness decided to keep the comparator division close to his side in-house at J&L. (Seriously, some environs look like they have been untouched by modern headways like youve stumbled into a deep southern Appalachia, or as my friend calls it; Pennsyltucky.). The equipment sure helps, but its really the photographer behind the gadgets that makes the difference. The light faded, the demons vanished and the hunter was left sopping wet in the middle of the woods in silence. If youd like to learn a little bit more about your blogger, feel free to check out my interview. Only, he was just dumping them at Ely, which was already considered a Superfund site that the time, and was somehow caught and penalized. So much so, that for about a good century from the 1890s to the end of the 1980s the region became to be known as Precision Valley due to it practically inventing the precision tool industry, and had the highest per-capita income in all of Vermont. As a kid, I grew up playing in the woods of an old farm behind my house. The area was also slanged as The Jewish Alps and in Sullivan Countys case, Solomon County. Another reason might be something thats also been steadily plaguing America since around that time period outsourcing jobs for cheaper labor costs. This hotel was legendary and was arguably thehotel that becamethe representation of the region, growing to a size of 35 buildings on 1,200 acres. Subject to section 1469 of this title, the following property is presumed abandoned if it is unclaimed by the apparent owner during the period specified below: (1) a traveler's check, 15 years after issuance; . Brownell, and has managed to survive into the 21st century, though still pretty obscure. Just before I walked in with my camera, a bunch of teenagers were just finishing shooting a music video here. It made me wonder back in the day, moving an old cemetery wasnt as big of a deal as it would be nowadays. I once heard many years ago that around that time, a local boy and self-described dare-devil went over Clarks Fallsin a barrel. The land is flat, which is pretty a valuable deal in Springfield because most of the village is built up around low-profile slopes that contort around the Black River. Before exploring abandoned places in Vermont you should follow these general rules to remain safe and come out of that place without facing any danger. My summer turned into a lot of stress and setbacks, and I felt like my life was becoming as standard as my white apartment walls. Though Im all for preservation, this building is now far too gone. Man, young Chad had so much to learn. A few people we ran into definitely made us uncomfortable. This is what keeps my spirit inspired. Apparently sometime in the early 2000s, vicinitypets began to go missing, mostly dogs. I honestly dont think that this racetrack project could have happened in any other spot in Vermont. Paul Donavan, a Vermont mine enthusiast, has a very cool website that includes his photographs of his ventures into the mines, as well as a great drawn map of Ely mines subterranean passageways. A story about Belvidere Mountain says that every day around 3500 tons of ore was extracted and used to make pipe linings, brake linings, roofs, and more. Expenses range from internet fees to host the blog, to investing in research materials, to traveling expenses. Mark elaborated. There was a crash of thunder. Luckily, we made it safely back to our car with our internal organs in their places. One very tall form had wings, who the hunter thought to be the devil himself. Not much more fun than this. The property must be kept vacant for a time being until any step is taken by the government. But the bigger causality might just be the companies refusal to be self-aware. One story tells of a farmers young daughter falling into a hammock ( a raised mound of dirt) while out walking the family farm in Vershire, and coming back to the house with her leg covered in an orangy muck, which caught her fathers attention. Abandoned buildings can stand for quite some time if they are constructed well. We used to salvage stuff from the heaps of junked appliances, tires, and barn mementos and use it to build forts with. Though I guess I was a bit disappointed I didnt find a rusty old Hartness turret lathe still within, this explore was so much fun! 4. r/urbanexploration 12 days ago. If youre from Vermont, you know that there are tons of rustic houses, buildings, and old shops that have either been left to decay or forgotten about. Pretty much; red paint is made from Iron. Hartness also gained a reputation for continuously advocating for better working conditions and more efficient company management to ensure the business would be as successful as possible. I want to say these were taken by an insecure me with my Nikon point and shoot, around the spring of 2010. In the spring of 1965, a horse racing track started up in the hardscrabble town of Pownal where three fascinating mountain ranges, the Green Mountains, Taconics, and Berkshire Hills, collide. Everything is finite. We passed through forested Woodford, the highest town in elevation in Vermont at around 2,215 feet, then descended into Wilmington. Unfortunately, thats what happened to Springfield. We all mutually nodded our heads in affirmationand confidentially walked inside. Being an avid pilot one of Vermonts first Hartness became president of the Vermont Aero Club and donated land for Vermonts first airport Hartness State Airport just north of Springfield, and had his pal Charles Lindbergh even stop by for a spell in 1927 after his world flabbergasting trans-Atlantic flight. Built by Francis Bannerman VI in 1901, at one point his castle held 30,000,000 units of military weaponry. Time to start exploring! The lathe was significantly improved by a team at J&L led by Ralph Flanders that would be so victorious, that it would ironically eventually evolve into the creation of CNC, which made the manually operated lathe obsolete because the new ones could now operate all by themselves. The building was built into a ledge that forms the beginning of Main Street hill. You dont have to be in Europe to pass by magnificent and astonishing castles and mansions on your drive home. The ground is loaded with red ochre becausewhen stars die, they explode, and physics decrees they generate a bunch of iron as the result, which is pretty cool. Ask for permission before entering an uninhibited place. Though, for me anyways, I found that finding those trails was a bit of a challenge. The higher altitudes of Huntington Gorge are the most dangerous spot. The house and the family have a long history of strange and spooky behavior, full of ghosts, haunted rooms, and a terrifying family history. The thick brick walls oozing with slime and glazed by ice blocked cell phone reception pretty well. Astonishingly, the remnants of the actual speak easy can still be seen today below the building, which really hasnt changed all that much. The story of its standout color is, basically, when it was first built, its enthusiastic members were broke so they went around to area hardware stores and asked if theyd donate some paint. Not much remains at all of its legacy here because of a massive cleanup initiated in 2011, which I couldnt help be a bit disappointed by, but in the end, there is something about these old mines and their stories that yield an irresistible intrigue to me.
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