Ricker Basin Phantom Church Bells

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This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post.

I share them weekly, and you can get in on the fun by liking my page at Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg and following me at Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg! Now onto the haunting story!

Ricker Basin, Vermont

DID YOU KNOW

that Vermont has a real ghost town inside a state park?

Ricker Basin is tucked into Little River State Park above Waterbury. In the early 1800s, pioneers cleared fields, rocks, and stumps in the Ricker Basin and Cotton Brook area and built a hill settlement of around 50 families.

It thrived for a while with farms, a schoolhouse, and sawmills, but steep ground and poor soil made farming brutal. By the late 1800s most families were gone, tired of breaking their backs for little in return.

Then on November 3-4, 1927, persistent heavy rains caused rivers to overflow, flooding Waterbury and other towns and killing 84 people statewide. To this day, it remains the highest death toll from a natural disaster in Vermont history.

In response to the disaster, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the Waterbury Reservoir between 1935 and 1938, which required the permanent evacuation of the few remaining Ricker Basin residents.

Today, the forest has reclaimed almost everything. What you'll find on a hike isn’t like a mining ghost town. You’ll find stone walls, cellar holes, remnants of a sawmill, and a cemetery. The park notes that only one full house is still standing. It’s Almeron Goodell's farmhouse, and it’s quickly deteriorating.

It's been called the closest thing Vermont has to a real ghost town, and Little River State Park still runs a map for the History Hike so you can find the foundations yourself.

Have you ever hiked it?

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About the Author

Author Ed Sweeney documents folklore, odd history, hauntings, and cryptid cases at slightlyoddamerica.com. He wrote Slightly Odd Fitchburg: The Odd and Haunted History of Central Massachusetts, is a content creator, and founder of the Slightly Odd Society

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Location: Waterbury Reservoir, Waterbury, VT, USA

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