Curiously named Gay City was founded just before the 1800’s by families seeking religious freedom and was around for roughly 80 years until the Industrial Revolution and multiple fires killed it. This was the first stop of our ’06 New England trip, and to be honest I was expecting more. Similar to the Pine Barrens ghost towns, all we saw were stone walls, a few cellar holes, and the remains of the final incarnation of the paper mill (it burned down at least twice). There are supposedly a few grave stones too, but we weren’t able to find them.
There are stories of murders and hauntings attached to the ruins, but nothing interesting happened to us while we were there (it never does).
Overall, nothing spectacular, but it’s a very nice park to walk around, especially in the first week of October. I’d like to go back and find the graves sometime.
