Abandoned Eastern Connecticut with Matthew Means
Join local author and photographer Matthew Means for an illustrated journey through Abandoned Eastern Connecticut: Echoes of the Last Green Valley. Part of Fonthill Media’s America Through Time series, the book explores the rich and often overlooked history of Northeastern Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, where remnants of colonial homesteads share the landscape with fading farms, local burying grounds, and the imposing ruins of mills and factories that once helped shape the region. Featuring photographs and stories gathered from across Eastern Connecticut, Means will discuss these remnants of the past, the histories they preserve, and what their disappearance can tell us about the changing shape of New England.
The presentation will also consider the unusual fascination that abandoned places hold for us. Why can an empty farmhouse or ruined factory feel compelling in a way that an ordinary occupied building does not? And why are they so readily associated with mystery, unease, and the supernatural? Drawing on themes found in his photography and research, Means will examine the psychological and cultural forces that shape our responses to these “ghosts on the landscape.”
Blending local history, photography, and a touch of the fantastical, Abandoned Eastern Connecticut offers a unique perspective on the familiar surroundings of the Quiet Corner. Behind overgrown doorways, collapsing mill walls, and buildings slowly being reclaimed by nature are traces of the people, industries, and communities that once animated them. The presentation considers not only what these sites can tell us about Eastern Connecticut’s past, but why what we leave behind can remain so powerfully present in our imagination.
