As residents tromp about their business on the East side of Providence, something evil lurks below. A dark chasm in the bowels
of college hill is the home of many frightening tales. A winter home for transients, a frat house for college parties and a church for satanic masses, the abandoned Eastside tunnel serves up a heaping dish of excitement for all those who venture inside.
The tunnel was built in 1908 as a means for easy access to Union Station in downtown Providence. The tunnel is an impressive 22 feet high, 31 feet wide and about a mile long. At its deepest point it is 110 feet below Prospect St. Originally the tunnel contained 2 tracks used by an electric commuter trolley for the first part of the last century. The trolley ran passenger to and from Warren, Bristol, and Fall River. After 1940 the tunnel seems to only have been used by freights of the Providence & Worcester RR. In 1981 they raised the Seekonk Bridge one last time and put an end to its use. Now the tunnel remains as an attraction for the curious and mischievous New Englander.
Posted in Mysterious Landmarks, The Underworld and tagged abandoned, brown, Dark, east, parties, railroad, satanic, Shadows, side, strange new england, tunnel, universitywith no comments yet.
In front of university hall at Harvard University stands a bronze statue of John Harvard. Danial Chester French sculpted the statue in 1884. The statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial is one of Mr. French’s better-recognized works. It had been originally placed on a granite pedestal to the west of Memorial Hall but was moved to its present location forty years later. Harvard’s Statue had been unveiled for the University’s 250th birthday in 1885. There is an inscription on the statue that reads, “John Harvard, Founder, 1638.” Though it may come as a surprise, none of it is true. All across campus the students refer to this monument to a great man as “the statue of three lies”. (more…)
Posted in Historical, Mysterious Landmarks and tagged 3, bronze, harvard, john, lies, luck, Statue, strange new englandwith no comments yet.
In Colebrook Conn. it is rumored that there exists a cave of mammoth proportion. Colebrook Cave was alleged to have been discovered in the 1800’s, and rediscovered around 1926, only to be lost once again. Some say that this tale was a hoax created by local pranksters. Though the story reads much like the typical legend, as you dig deeper into its history you begin to find evidence to support it.
Connecticut is the home of many caves, large and small, most New Englanders are not aware of. The largest of these are the Twin Lakes Caves in Salisbury. These caves are impressive in size and called the Champions of New England caves. Though previously commercial caves, they are now closed to the public.
Posted in Cave, Historical, Legends & Folklore, Subterranean and tagged adventure, cave, Colebrook, Folklore of New England, Legend, Legends of New England, lost, mystery, new england folklore, strange new england, Witcheswith no comments yet.
Stories of lost gold mines have always been popular among prospectors and treasure hunters. It is often believed that an undiscovered motherlode is just waiting for some treasure hunter to find it using modern technology. Lost mines often recall tales like that of Lost Dutchman’s Mine, coded maps and the wild west. New England is the last place anyone would expect find a gold mine. But surprisingly the northeastern states did have a short-lived boom in prospecting and gold mining. So far, over 20 lost and forgotten gold mines have been found in New England (excluding all the places known for placer gold).
With the stratospheric price of gold and popularity of the reality television show, Gold Rush, the interest in gold prospecting in New England has skyrocketed. Forgotten mines and minor gold rushes in the northeast are a terrific topic to explore. Since there are so many mines and location to discuss, they can’t all fit in one article. So, over the next year, look for a series of articles, each one spotlighting one of the six New England states, beginning with in Rhode Island. This southern New England state is known for its history, beaches, and food –not gold mines. Surprisingly the biggest little state still keeps a few secrets in the form of prospects and mines.
Posted in Geology, Historical, Subterranean and tagged copper, durfee, dutchman, england, gold, hill, island, lost, mine, motherlode, new, rhode, strange new englandwith 2 comments.
I’m often asked how we uncover these interesting places and history in New England. Often, I will stress the worth of libraries and lots of reading, but forget to mention the immense value of just talking to people. Many of our greatest discoveries come from a conversation with a friendly person we meet in our travels. One of those casual conversations is what led to my discover of Deadman’s Cave.
In fall of 2012, I was once again reminded that chatting with friends and family around you can also pay off. I was told that my father in-law Richard Gallo had a story about a long-forgotten cave in Cranston Rhode Island. Though I found it hard to believe I could have missed something like this, I was intrigued.
When I met with Richard, I immediately asked where the cave was located. Expecting to hear that it lay on a lonely hill in the western extremes of Cranston, I was surprised by what in his story revealed.
Posted in Cave, Historical, Subterranean, The Underworld and tagged cave, coal, cranston, Deadmans Cave, Deamans, fossil, mine, Passage, pond, Rite, strange new englandwith no comments yet.
Clay Perry included many things in his books that would only be considered caves by the most generous definition. There were also some entries he referred to as artificial caves. These were man-made stone tunnels and chambers that can be found scattered across New England. Though he had and entire chapter that covered some that he found most interesting, there is one in Goshen, Massachusetts that will only be found in the index as a counterfeiter’s cave, but it is known as Goshen’s Counterfeiters Cave .
In late 2015, I had the chance to visit and explore this counterfeiter’s cave with My friends Jim, Michael , Tristen and Zack. I had known of the tunnel for over 25 years and had always wanted to explore it. I found the available descriptions and illustrations to be accurate. The tunnels branching off in two directions did appear odd, but the corbel construction is something I have seen in other colonial tunnels in New England. Their appearance greatly resembles old Roman culverts that can still be found in England. If it weren’t for the hardpan in which they are seated, I might suspect they were to divert or transport water over a property.
Posted in Archaeological, Cave, Historical, Subterranean and tagged cave, Colonial, Counterfeiters, Goshen, mystery, root cellar, strange new england, treasure, tunnel, wellwith no comments yet.
All over New England are stone chambers of all different shapes and sizes. Clay Perry referred to them as artificial caves, and 
dedicated a chapter to some he speculated were created by Irish monks around 1000 AD. There is one that locals call the Hermit Cave.
In New England there is one known as the Hermit Cave. It is a corbelled dome chamber built into a low natural mound. It has a small crawl-in opening two feet high and wide with a three-foot-long passage. The passage slopes slightly to an oval chamber 6 feet, 8 inches high and 7 feet, 6 inches wide. The rear of the chamber to the entrance measures 11 feet, 6 inches long. This small chamber is an amazing work of dry masonry.
Posted in Cave, Historical, Ruins, Subterranean and tagged cave. hermit cave, Chamber, Hermit, monk cave, norse, rock, root cellar, stone, strange new england, vikingwith no comments yet.
The Atlantic Ocean is teaming with many unusual and very frightening creatures. For centuries sailors have spun tale of denizen from the deep that would make even the bravest of anglers shudder in fear. Giant serpents, colossal fish with razor sharp teeth, and behemoths with tentacles that could crush the hull of a ship were believed to lurk beneath the waves. One of them that came to the shore for all to see was the Blockness Monster.
Posted in Legends & Folklore, Monsters, Cryptids & Ghouls and tagged Blockness Monster, cryptid creatures, cryptids, Folklore of New England, kraken, Legends of New England, Monster, monster legends, mystery, mythical creatures, new england folklore, serpent, strange new englandwith no comments yet.
I’ve often thought of Connecticut as the Devil’s State. You can find his name attached to more features, places and landmarks than anywhere else in New England. Even Long Island Sound was referred to as the Devil’s Belt. Because of this, I was not surprised to stumble on the mention of a cave called the Devil’s Cave , in Connecticut. I had seen it mentioned in a 1908 article about a spiritualist camp that lies near a cove along the coast. I won’t deny that the cave’s name is what caught my interest.
It wasn’t long before I discovered that this cave has been in many publications in my library. It’s mentioned in a list of lost Connecticut caves as Devil’s Den Caves. Many other authors briefly mentioned it as Indian Cave. The one thing they all seemed to all have in common was the lack of knowledge about its exact location. Some spoke of it as if it were a secret that only locals were aware of.
Posted in Cave, Historical, Legends & Folklore, The Underworld and tagged cave, connecticut, Devil's, Folklore of New England, indian, Legends of New England, new england, new england folklore, spiritual, strange new england, vulture, warwith 8 comments.