Our World Tuesday: Little People Village






From Little People Village
Geocaching has a way of uncovering history for the local yokels at the same time it gets us outside and roaming the landscape for tucked-away Tupperware. My daughter's geocaching adventures brought her to Little People Village in Middlebury a few weeks ago with her father.
From Little People Village
About a century ago, a trolley line ran from Waterbury to Middlebury, Connecticut, where merry makers could hop off to visit this village or go a little farther down the line to Quassy Amusement Park.  It was an ornamental garden called The Fairy Garden.
From Little People Village
There area is dotted with the ruins of little people houses with arches, verandas, balustrades, and thrones.  These have suffered from neglect, the elements, and vandalism so that imagining what it might have been like requires a fair amount of imagination.  Here in Connecticut, there is no shortage of that.  According to Damned Connecticut, "One of the many versions of the story goes that back about a century ago, a man and his wife (who may or may not have been a witch) were living peacefully in Middlebury when she started seeing small fairy folk in the woods around their home. To accommodate these pixie-like creatures, she demanded her husband build a tiny village. As the years passed and the village grew, the enchantment faded into madness. The abandoned smurf-scale town is all that’s left to mark the couple’s anguished demise."

From Little People Village

Mother Nature is reclaiming the remains of this quaint garden.  Pines tower over the gift shop in the first photo, and vines are shaking loose the foundations of these little concrete constructions.  There isn't much left of the road, either.  It runs parallel to Interstate 84, but you'd hardly know it if you were mucking around in these quiet woods.






Mother Nature's got a way of doing her thing.  Just ask the bittersweet.
From Little People Village
Our World Tuesday

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28 Comments

  1. interestng...indeed. Looks like a fun place to explore and take photos.

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  2. i should say that it's the nicest tiny village ive seen. small yet so unqiue. one that i dream to see.

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  3. What quaint gardens... I bet it's full of fairies! ;-)

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  4. Oh, definitely full of fairies! What a great, interesting place to explore! A fun look at your part of our world today, Sandy! Hope your week is off to a great start!

    Sylvia

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  5. I hope that none of those fairies followed your daughter home. What an enchanting place.

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  6. It seems like geocaching is a good excuse to get out and explore. We've done it once and should probably try it again.

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  7. What a wonder of a post with super shots Sandy.

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  8. This is fascinating. It's a shame the village has fallen into ruin.

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  9. What an interesting post -- did your daughter take the pictures? Geocaching always sounds so interesting, a great family activity.

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  10. WOULDN'T IT BE NICE TO FIX IT UP AGAIN AND KEEP THE MEMORY ALIVE.
    GEOCACHING SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF FUN.:)

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  11. Very interesting post and great shots. I know I have fairies in my garden and I also know some come inside and hide things from me.

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  12. A beautiful place. You got a lot of shots. Lovely ones.

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  13. Uh, Did somebody say geocaching?

    You got my attention.

    I also love abandoned, ruined, sites. Combine the two, and I can't resist.

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  14. a marvelous discovery! i enjoy exploring ruins, too. great photos--i love the mystery in the first photo.

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  15. How very interesting!

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  16. It looks wild! Definitely an adventurous place to explore. Cheers!

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  17. Hi there - there is always something that invites a story about buildings slipping back into woodland.

    Nice pictures and words.

    Stewart M - Australia

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  18. How sad that mother nature takes it back again. Must have been so nice !

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  19. I never heard of this place - looks like a wonderful spot.

    Carolina Mts

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  20. Good post. So interesting. Thanks always for the photos.

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  21. That is really awesome. I would be sorely tempted to start repairing the village. Ha!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  22. This is a excuisite post Sandy - and very interesting.. I could nearly *feel someone breathing my neck* (I don't know if you use this saying over there?).. I think I could not dare to walk there alone, to put it that way.. ;) And when enlarging the pictures I just felt some goosebumps on my skin.. ;)

    Very interesting! :)

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  23. There used to be so many amusement venues like this along roads across the country. Back then family road trips were common and people would stop so kids could enjoy something different. Our lives are different these days, and kids are occupied with so many other types of stimulation. It's kind of sad. I remember all those wonderful times with my folks. - Margy

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  24. interesting post and awesome pictures

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  25. such an amazing tale.... loved seeing the images and considering how this couple lived. Fun that your daughter enjoys geocaching. i was hiking around here once and spotted a tupperware container and opened it. It took some pondering to figure out what it might be. Sure looked like a fun package, with pencil and paper, candy bar and more. fun fun.

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  26. Sandy, what an interesting story and a wonderful place. It is a shame the tiny village has been neglected. I have been hearing more and more about geocaching it sounds like fun. Great post and photos.

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  27. What a very interesting place. I love deserted dwellings and villages, old ruins of homes that ones had life. There is something hauntingly beautiful and enticing about them. Almost melancholic. And I have a melancholic streak.;)
    Lovely images Sandy, was your daughter the photographer?
    xoxo

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