Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Real events too strange to have made the textbook.
New Haven, CT
New Haven's central Green looks like an ordinary civic park, but it served as the community burial ground for generations. Most old headstones were moved elsewhere while thousands of human remains were left underground; Hurricane Sandy famously exposed skeletal remains beneath a fallen tree in 2012.
East Granby, CT
America's first state prison was created inside an old copper mine, where prisoners were lowered into underground chambers that proved almost impossible to manage. The preserved ruins and mine tunnels can be toured seasonally.
Bethel, CT
A life-size bronze P.T. Barnum stands outside the Bethel Public Library in the showman's hometown. The statue was commissioned for the 200th anniversary of Barnum's birth and gives OddWay travelers a direct stop tied to America's most famous promoter of curiosities.
Bridgeport, CT
An imposing seated statue of circus impresario P.T. Barnum overlooks the waterfront park he helped create for Bridgeport. Installed after his death, it connects the city directly to the man whose museums, sideshows and spectacles helped define nineteenth-century American entertainment.
Bridgeport, CT
Once home to an amusement park, cottages and summer crowds, Pleasure Beach was largely abandoned after a bridge fire cut off road access in 1996. Nature has reclaimed much of the former community. The City of Bridgeport operates seasonal water-taxi access, including during the 2026 season.
Bridgeport, CT
A tall industrial tower survives within the abandoned Remington Arms complex, where molten lead was once dropped from above so it cooled into round shot while falling. The factory property is not an urban-exploration destination: view the tower only from lawful public areas.
Waterford, CT
This dramatic shoreline complex opened in 1934 as a tuberculosis hospital designed around sunlight and sea air, then later served other institutional uses before closing in 1996. The grounds are now a state park, while the striking abandoned hospital buildings remain fenced and off-limits.
Middletown, CT
A bronze monument honors Sergeant Stubby, the stray dog adopted by Connecticut soldiers who became one of World War I's most famous military animals. Stubby reportedly warned troops of gas attacks, located wounded soldiers and served with the 102nd Infantry.
Stonington, CT
A chapel at Enders Island preserves a mummified arm traditionally identified as a relic of Saint Edmund of Canterbury. The centuries-old human relic makes an unexpectedly macabre stop within an otherwise peaceful Catholic retreat setting; visitors should respect chapel rules and scheduled access.
Farmington, CT
Stone and concrete remnants of a Depression-era wildlife facility hide in the woods of today's Shade Swamp Sanctuary. Old cages and foundations give the otherwise ordinary nature preserve the atmosphere of an abandoned woodland zoo.
Milford, CT
A sandstone obelisk in Milford Cemetery marks a mass grave connected to Continental Army prisoners suffering from smallpox after being released from a British prison ship in 1777. Forty-six prisoners died within weeks, leaving one of Connecticut's grimmer Revolutionary War memorials.
Danbury, CT
A bronze Sybil Ludington rides through downtown Danbury in memory of the teenage messenger traditionally credited with a long Revolutionary War nighttime ride. Historians debate parts of the famous story, which gives the monument an interesting mix of history and legend.
Deep River, CT
A tiny stone marked only 'XYZ' identifies the burial place of an unidentified bank robber killed during an 1899 attempted robbery. For decades, local lore said a mysterious woman dressed in black appeared at the grave every year around the anniversary of his death.
Meriden, CT
This tiny 1925 tower once held a police officer who manually controlled traffic lights at a busy Meriden intersection. Restored as a monument, it preserves an odd transitional stage between hand signals and automated traffic systems.
Bethany, CT
A huge concrete arrow survives from the era when pilots navigated early U.S. airmail routes by following giant ground markers and beacon towers. The preserved arrow sits at the historic Bethany Airport site and is one of the clearest remnants of pre-radio air navigation in the state.
Essex, CT
The Connecticut River Museum displays a full-size working reconstruction of the Turtle, the tiny one-man submersible built during the American Revolution for an attempted underwater attack on British warships. Its cramped wooden design looks more like a barrel than a modern submarine.
Old Lyme, CT
The Florence Griswold Museum preserves a canoe used by Woodrow Wilson during visits to the Lyme Art Colony before his presidency. The ordinary-looking boat is an unusually personal artifact tucked into a museum better known for American Impressionism.
Noank, CT
A plaque at the Latham/Chester Store identifies the building with Amelia Earhart's secret 1931 wedding — except local historical research places the actual ceremony at a different house nearby. The confidently incorrect memorial makes the mistake itself the attraction.
