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Today the weather was decent and not too sunny. My son was in daycare so I packed up my camera and daughter and headed out for find some shots. We ended up heading up to Gay City State Park in Hebron, CT. I've been out here before to go hiking with my family and mountain biking with friends. I like the history of the place which I'll expand on a little more below. For now, here are a few shots from today. As usual, I'll post more on my photothing page.

Without trying to fill this entire blog, here is some interesting history on Gay City State Park:

The name “Gay City” derives from a now-extinct mill town that once occupied the site. Today only some tumbling stone foundations, several grass-filled cellar holes and a few silent tombstones suggest its former existence.

Gay City was first settled in 1796 by a religious sect led by Elijah Andrus and later by Rev. Henry P. Sumner. The Gays soon comprised the majority of the 25 or more families who then lived in the community. The residents kept strictly to themselves, existing as distinctly separate from the neighboring communities. They built a sawmill along the Black Ledge River and erected homes from the lumber.

Gay City’s fate changed with the successes and failures of several commercial enterprises. A woolen mill on the site 1/4 mile below the present pond was a successful business until extreme pressures caused by the various blockades during the War of 1812 brought its closing. Once revived, the mill burned to the ground in 1830, beginning the town’s decline with the exodus of many people to urban factory jobs. Rev. Sumner’s son built a paper mill which again revived the town somewhat until the Civil War, when many of the town’s younger men were killed in battle. Soon after, the mill burned down, triggering the final demise of Gay City and nature’s reclaiming of the land.

According to legend, alcohol was the principal factor contributing to Gay City’s next upheaval. Some say that it was part of the group’s religious practice and others claim that it was an inducement to attend the compulsory twice-a-week services, but whatever the reason, all male members of the community were served hard liquor when they attended the frequent meetings for worship. Rum may have improved attendance figures, and it may even have encouraged spirited participation in the religious services, but legend has it that the booze did very little for the peace and tranquility of the religious gatherings. As the drunken brawls and blasphemous language of the male parishioners contributed more and more to the general civic unrest, a number of the first families of the colony packed up and left Gay City, resettling in the Hockanum River region of East Hartford and Glastonbury, and along the banks of the Connecticut River to the south. By 1804, the colony had reached a turning point.

There is talk about the park being haunted. While it's an interesting notion to entertain, I've never experienced any unnatural activities any time I've been there.