Tags: Ghost Town, Massachusetts, Ruins

Dana, along with 3 other towns – Prescott, Enfield, and Greenwich – was dissolved in 1938 when the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir was planned. The reservoir would have flooded these towns, so the government forced the residents to leave. While the other 3 towns are now underwater, much of Dana was not flooded; Dana Common was untouched. Today, several remnants of the town can still be found – foundations, streets, the fence posts for cemetery, etc. All graves were relocated before the flooding.

If you go to Dana, this road is all you’re going to see for a mile and a half; that’s how far Dana Common is from the nearest parking. At least it’s scenic, and there are plenty of foundations on the way.

When you finally reach Dana Common, a small monument greets you in the center:

“Site of Dana Common
1801-1938
To All Those Who
Sacrificed Their
Homes and Way
of Life
Erected by
Dana Reunion 1996″

The old cemetery’s fence posts.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Tags: Cemetery, Massachusetts

I can’t find anything out about this place, other than it’s near Otis. Most of the stones appear to be from the 1800’s. If it weren’t for the location of the cemetery and the difficulty in reaching it, I might not be including it.

It’s about a mile off a backroad, down a very, very rocky and unsafe dirt road (at least for cars, but there are spots where trucks might have trouble too). At one point, the road just drops steeply. There was no way our car was getting down it, so we walked the last third of a mile.

Judging by the lines of trees and stone walls on either side of the path, I’m betting a town or some sort of development was back here at one point. I don’t know if there are any buildings still standing. All we saw was the cemetery, which also has a stone wall around it.

You can see the 4 small stones all have a single rock placed on top.

Again, I’m still trying to find out more information. I don’t even know what the cemetery is named. If anyone knows where this is or what else was here, drop me a line.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Tags: Massachusetts, Nature, Roadside Oddity

Actual dinosaur footprints? In their original location and undisturbed? NOT plaster casts?
I had to see.
As a kid, I was big into dinosaurs. I know most kids were, but most kids also thought of them as big lizard things that ate each other and cavemen. I could at least name a good amount, other than the standard few everyone knows. I always wanted to find fossils and, much to my family’s dismay, dug huge holes in the backyard to look for them. I was shown countless plaster casts of footprints but always wanted to see the real deal.

Nearly 20 years later, there it was…

Popularity: 6% [?]

Tags: Monsters/Vampires, Monument, Vermont

I am fully aware that this is a very, very dumb addition to the site.
And I don’t care.

When I was little, I read nothing but ghost and cryptozoology books. One monster I was particularly fond of was Champ, Lake Champlain’s monster, the US version of Nessie. Once I found out there was actually a monument for him/her/it, and that it was just a few towns up from the Shelburne Museum, I had to go.
Sadly, it’s barely a monument. It’s very small and right on the ground. I actually couldn’t find it at first because from the car I was looking for an actual monument-looking thing, not something slightly bigger than a headstone.

Small print reads (continuing the Dedicated to Champ line at top):

” And Those People in Vermont
Who Have Sighted Champ
And Are in Search of Champ”

Really nothing else to say, other than it was my first time seeing Lake Champlain. It had just finished raining, so it was pretty dark on the water.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Tags: Architecture, Museum, Restored Historical Town, Vermont, WTF

Lots of pics. Go get some nachos.

When one hears the word “museum” they tend to think of large, ugly buildings full of ugly, boring stuff. Fortunately, the Shelburne Museum is not your ordinary museum. Not in the slightest. While there is some art on display, there is much, much more to see. Many of the collections are just bizarre, ranging from automatons to horse-drawn carriages. And this is not just one museum; it’s several. How’s that? Technically the museum is outside, and several of the buildings house different collections. The buildings themselves can be considered a museum as well; where else can you find a jail, lighthouse, covered bridge, and even a steamship that were bought and moved to one site?

The entrance to the museum is a large round barn. Inside is the ticket booth and some art exhibits, one being various chandeliers. My favorite was the one made of plastic kitchenware.

Next thing we saw was an old creaky carousel. It still works and you can ride it.

What’s this? Oh, a train station.

How about that…a passenger car.

Huh? You can go inside?

Well, that was interesting. What’s up the trail from the train station?
A steamship.

But can you go inside?
Absolutely.

A view from the deck of the ship. It looks like a town, but all but the church way in the back are part of the museum.

Hey, what’s that across from the steamship?

A lighthouse, complete with rocks.

“Turtle Boy”

The covered bridge used to be the entrance to the museum.

This was a very, very tiny jail:

Inside the one-room schoolhouse.

Inside the 50’s house.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Tags: Roadside Oddity, Unique Grave, Vermont, WTF

A silly little stop in Vermont on one of our New England trips. New Haven was on the way to Shelburne & Burlington, so we figured why not.

It’s strange enough the grave is a mound, but….what’s that on top of it?

Some sort of window? Can you see in there?

…No. You can’t see anything.

There is no wording on the grave. It’s just a mound with a window in it.
Supposedly whoever this belongs to was afraid of the dark. At least that’s all I’ve heard.

Popularity: 15% [?]