Hearthstone Castle

A 19th century castle fit for a king, must be in Europe right? Wrong... Hearthstone Castle which was completed in 1899 sits nestled deep in the woods of Danbury, CT. This three story castle designed by Ernest G.W. Dietrich once boasted over 17 rooms complimented with imported Italian woodwork and 8 stone fireplaces. All the stone used to build this marvel was quarried entirely on site and transported by a small railway system. E Starr Sanford who was said to be a noted photographer at the time was the castles first owner, using it as a "summer cottage". Sanford and his wife spent only five years at Hearthstone before selling to new owners. Ownership of the castle changed hands over the years with its final residents being"The Jennings" moving out in 1987, the same year the castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Soon after changing hands to city ownership the castle took a turn for the worse, it sat and deteriorating through the 1990's and into the 2000's. In 2004 the roof of the castle had collapsed and the castle from that moment on was literally a shell of its former self... The inside is completely destroyed and just a pile of rubble with small traces of what it once was lying under old floor boards. As of 2017 all attempts to renovate this once proud castle have been abandoned and plans to demolish the site are underway.

Explorers beware this site is extremely deteriorated and dangerous. Going inside the castle is not recommended.

UPDATE 03/27/18: Reports that the castle is in the beginning phases of demolition, trees are marked to be removed. 

UPDATE: 07/15/20: A local radio station reports the grounds will be cleaned up. The castle still stands in its deteriorated state.

 Photo by Lewis Zurlo - 1995

 Photo by Lewis Zurlo - 1995

 1985

Photo courtesy of "Friends of Tarrywile Park"

Workers transporting stone on railway - 1896

Photo courtesy of "National Park Service"

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Raybestos Memorial Field

With just a quick blink you might miss it, or maybe just mistake it as woods. But this massive now abandoned softball field once held over 12,000 people. It was known as Raybestos Memorial Field and hosted the Stratford Brakettes Woman’s Softball team. The field hosted many notable games including the 1974 ISF Women's World Championship in which the United States defeated Japan for the gold medal. The field was owned and operated by Raymark Industries, Inc. a major asbestos removal company which had a factory adjacent to the field. Everything took a turn for the worst in the late 1980’s when allegations that Raymark Industries had been burring asbestos underground outside its factory. The EPA came in and discovered that the field which opened in 1947 and area surrounding it was highly contaminated, and like that the factory was shut down and the field shut its gates in 1987.

The field remains intact today with not many things at all removed due to the fear of releasing asbestos fibers into the air.

UPDATE AUGUST 2020: Field Reported to be demolished

Then

                                                                     

Photo courtesy of ESPN.com

Now

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