Boothe Memorial Park, Stratford
By Ray Bendici | Category: Hauntings, Weird Places
The Damned Story: Boothe Park proves the old adage, “If you have time, money, space, some significant eccentricities and the inclination to build stuff, then you too can create a bizarre memorial to yourself that will last for generations!”
All right, maybe I made that adage up, but you get the gist.
At the turn of the 20th century, brothers David Beach and Stephen Nichols Boothe decided to turn their 32 acres of property in Stratford overlooking the Housatonic River into a fun shrine to the unusual, the Boothe Memorial Museum. They collected a number of objects and built odd items on the property that had been in the respectable Boothe family for centuries. In addition to the mini windmill and clocktower, they added a mini lighthouse, a carriage house, a trolley station, blacksmith shop, a chapel, a model train museum, a technocratic building (with no windows or doors) and an Americana museum.
More recently, an original toll booth from the Merritt Parkway has been added to the property — fittingly, it’s the one that stood a short distance from the park, just before (or after, depending on which direction you were headed) the Sikorsky Bridge. The property is also hosts a small observatory (home of the Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society), a nice playground and a rose garden.
For the record, the property also claims to be “the oldest homestead in America” as the main house sits on the foundation of a home build in 1663 and has been continuously occupied.
Aside from being a tad eccentric, there are those who believe Boothe Park is also haunted. (The Paranormal Research Society of New England has done extensive investigation of the site.) Visitors inside the old homestead have had weird feelings and experiences, including hearing unexplained knocking and disembodied voices. Next to the property is the small Boothe Cemetery, in which visitors have claimed to see anomalous forms and spirits.
Our Damned Experience: I visited Boothe Park on a chilly day in November 2005, camera in tow, and took a bunch of quasi “artsy” shots, including those you see here. Generally, I found the park to be like most town parks — pleasant, well-maintained and welcoming to visitors. From what I understand, many of the unusual phenomena seem to occur in the homestead, which I was not able to gain entrance. I did wander into the cemetery and took photos there as well, but nothing otherworldly appeared.
If You Go: Boothe Park is now owned and operated by the town of Stratford and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s open to the public year-round, and during the warmer months, tours are available for some of the buildings.
Having lived in Bridgeport for my entire childhood and Stratford being so close by I have been here alot as a child.I never noticed anything odd and creepy about this park.I can not say I have ever been in the “haunted” homestead though so I could not tell you if that’s truly haunted or not.
I have passed this homestead many times, visited it, seen plays on it’s grounds, and ran a road race through it……and never sensed or seen anything weird. When I am driving by in the evening though..especially on those chilly Falls night, I do get a weird feeling that come over me. Probably nothing I am sure..either way, this is a great place for a picnic, to just read, or to sit and think. Very unique…and very interesting. People need to take more advantage of this beautiful retreat…… A clear treasure!!!
All I can recall is that when I was in second grade, we went on a field trip to the park. And I remember prior someone once told me that the musame had a third floor that had a lot of activity going on, and that they had to close it down ( I’m still not sure if it’s shut or not). So being a kid and repeating everything, at the end of the tour I had asked the tour guide, “how come we didn’t visit the third floor?” and she kind of had no idea what to say, but when I said “is it because it’s haunted?” She yelled at me, and said that I was makeing stories up. Til this day I have always wondered what went on in those buildings and what they were hiding! I have never seen something myself, but if I was in the paranormal I would love to investigate!
I live in Stratford and have been to Boothe Park several times, all in all it’s a beautiful park and it’s one of Stratford’s prized historical sites, but I have yet to see anything paranormal yet. I’ve walked through the cemetary and many of the stones are very old, and the museums and homestead were closed when I went so I haven’t been able to get an official tour. I’m looking forward to it though!
My personal favorites are the clock tower, and the cemetary.
Great post, thanks again!
I myself have a family filled with what on e may like to call a “witch” or what I prefer, a wiccan. My cousins, my brother, and I have all inherited the family trait– the strong connection to the spirit world. I’m not saying that I’m for absolute sure a medium, however I am definitely able to feel the prescense of the dead, sometimes see figures, and on occasion make contact. Living down the street from Booth Park, I went this past Samhain (Halloween) with a few friends and let me tell you, that graveyard is haunted. Upon entering the temperature dropped significantly to the point where we all shivered. I also felt the strongest sensation of being folled and felt a slight breath on the back of my neck. It was very scary to say the least. A strong feeling of impending doom overcame me and I hand to exit the cemetery. The rest of the park isn’t too bad. Creepy and territorial feeling? Yes. But when the door is open on Samhain, you can litterally feel the horror.
I was flabbergasted when I read that Boothe Memorial Park was supposedly haunted and eccentric. I was married there in 1989, September 10th.
I jad a nice wedding, was married by a priest, a photographer took lots of photos. No spots, ghosts or noises. Just the organ playing Wagner’s “Here Comes the Bride” .