Journey through Connecticut using this unconventional guidebook containing 82 odd locations to visit on your next outing. Travel to the far-reaching corners of the state to discover Branford's Thimble Islands and the Beckley Furnace in East Canaan. Learn about larger-than-life characters, like the legendary strongman Elmer Bitgood and the dead-and-ghostly religious zealot Jemima Wilkinson. Read spine-tingling accounts of a Norwich area medium and the specters of Woodbury. In addition to the extraordinary stories, discover tidbits sprinkled throughout that will give you "While You're There" ideas to add to your trip and a section highlighting destinations along the way, like restaurants, breweries, and inns. There are 45 colorful images to enhance your tour. Connecticut has plenty of strange and unusual history and folklore that will have you wandering slightly off the beaten path. Carry a big stick!

Connecticut, proclaimed often by visitors as solely a rest stop along the highway from New York to Boston, is known primarily for its bedroom towns, cows, and strip malls, but it is so much more than that. From tales of its haunted history, curious encounters, and forgotten places, Connecticut is "full of surprises" and worth investigating whether you're a local or an out-of-towner. Nooks and crannies are inhabited by ghost towns, large man-beasts, and inbred creatures with oblong heads. Folk artists who created religious sanctuaries out of trash are just some of the oddities you will see. Visit abandoned Norwich State Hospital and Daniel's Village, hear stories of demonic possessions, and discover the mysteries of Plum Island and the lore of Pirate treasure and witchcraft. Whether you know it as The Nutmeg State or The Constitution State, you will see the State of Connecticut in a whole different light.

Connecticut State Historian Walter Woodward helps us understand how people and events in Connecticut’s past played crucial roles in forming the culture and character of Connecticut today. Woodward, a gifted story-teller, brings the history we thought we knew to life in new ways, from the nearly forgotten early presence of the Dutch, to the time when Connecticut was New England’s fiercest prosecutor of witches, the decades when Connecticans were rapidly leaving the state, and the years when Irish immigrants were hurrying into it. Whether it’s his investigation into the unusually rough justice meted out to Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale, or a peek into Mark Twain’s smoking habits, Creating Connecticut will leave you thinking about our state’s past––and its future––in a whole new way.

Eerie occurrences, spooky events, unsolved mysteries, and terrifying specters haunt Connecticut. Tales ofBlood-thirsty dolls, haunted lighthouses and a phantom plane crash tingle the spine of travelers to Haunted Connecticut. Connecticut is known for haunted islands; phantom ships, trains, and planes; sightings of UFOs, aliens, and real men in black (MIB); and encounters with Bigfoot and evil black dogs.There have been plenty of strange atmospheric anomalies, such as Connecticut’s Dark Day; solid clouds that came crashing down from the sky in the Litchfield Hills in 1758; the Moodus Noises, which have yet to be fully understood; and Notch Hollow near Bolton, where car windows fog over for no apparent reason while passing an abandoned railroad track. Indeed, the stories in this book, covering the whole spectrum of the supernatural, are fun to read in a satisfyingly spooky kind of way.

Read the history of Mystic, Connecticut, from quiet farming village to wartime shipbilding powerhouse, to the charming nautical- themed destination it is today. Tucked away in a natural port, Mystic has long been home to seagoing adventure. In A History of Mystic, Connecticut, author and former Mystic Seaport librarian Leigh Fought relates the compelling story of this picturesque coastal community. Forged from the brutal Pequot War, for years Mystic was a quiet little farming village. Then came the War of 1812. Mystic's upstart venture capitalists seized on the war's dislocations to transform the settlement into a shipbuilding powerhouse. The shipyards launched vessels by the hundreds and an industry was born. The Civil War, steam-powered ships and the decline of commercial whaling halted Mystic's shipbuilding boom. Yet the town recovered, transforming itself into the charming nautical-themed tourist destination that has enchanted millions. Read Fought's comprehensive narrative to discover Mystic's role in New England's thrilling maritime saga.

The lives of notorious bad guys, perpetrators of mischief, visionary--if misunderstood--thinkers, and other colorful antiheroes, jerks, and evil doers from history all get their due in the short essays featured in these enlightening, informative books. Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Connecticut History features fifteen short biographies of nefarious characters, from Benedict Arnold to P.T. Barnum.

Connecticut boasts some of the oldest and most distinctive architecture in New England, from Colonial churches and Modernist houses to refurbished nineteenth-century factories. The state's history includes landscapes of small farmsteads, country churches, urban streets, tobacco sheds, quiet maritime villages, and town greens, as well as more recent suburbs and corporate headquarters. In his guide to this rich and diverse architectural heritage, Christopher Wigren introduces readers to 100 places across the state. Written for travelers and residents alike, the book features buildings visible from the road. Featuring more than 200 illustrations, the book is organized thematically. Sections include concise entries that treat notable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities, emphasizing the importance of the built environment and its impact on our sense of place. The text highlights key architectural features and trends and relates buildings to the local and regional histories they represent. There are suggestions for further reading and a helpful glossary of architectural terms A project of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, the book reflects more than 30 years of fieldwork and research in statewide architectural survey and National Register of Historic Places programs.