Abandoned The label
Why Grassy Hill Cemetery is called a ghost town
A long-running ghost town directory lists Grassy Hill Cemetery among Connecticut's ghost towns, but the entry itself says the place is not deserted: its remains are "old and new graves, still in business." What put it on the list is a ghost story. The submitter tells visitors to climb to the top, find a grave marked Howd and a large one marked Skiff, and watch for the ghost of a baby or listen for crying. That is a legend, and the only source for it is the directory entry. There was never a town here; the cemetery sits at the edge of the village of Falls Village.
History
Grassy Hill Cemetery then
The Sons of the American Revolution list sixteen patriots of the Revolution as buried here, with death dates from 1778 (Jonathan Belding) to 1849 (Rufus Landon). The same register gives the cemetery's other names, Hunt Memorial and Catherine E. Hunt Memorial, and the 1956 USGS South Canaan sheet labels it "Hunt Memorial Cem" on the hill above Falls Village. The older sheets below, from 1892 and 1903, show Falls Village and the Housatonic before the cemetery was named on a map.
1778. Earliest death date among the Revolutionary patriots the SAR lists as buried here (Jonathan Belding, January 9).
1849. Latest of them, Rufus Landon (April 10).
1956. USGS maps the site as "Hunt Memorial Cem" above Falls Village.
Today
What is there now
The Town of Canaan lists Grassy Hill Cemetery among the private Falls Village cemeteries, at 68 Point of Rocks Road (Route 126), with a named sexton and a note that green burials are not allowed. The town's page carries no date; we read it on October 29, 2026. The directory entry likewise describes new graves among the old. We found no posted visiting hours. It is a working cemetery on a state road: visit in daylight, park where it is allowed, and leave the graves as you find them.
Historic maps
Grassy Hill Cemetery on USGS maps, 1892–1993
Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the map point. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.
Map & directions
Getting there
The cemetery is on Point of Rocks Road (CT 126) at Falls Village, in the town of Canaan, 5.7 miles by road from the village of Canaan.
Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Times assume dry roads.
- From the village of Canaan, take Main Street (US 7 and US 44).0.2 mi
- Turn left on Church Street (US 44), which becomes Salisbury Road.2.2 mi
- Turn left on Belden Street (CT 126), which becomes Point of Rocks Road, to the cemetery.3.3 mi
- From downtown Hartford, take Capitol Avenue, Broad Street, Cogswell Street and Garden Street to Albany Avenue.1.1 mi
- Turn left on Albany Avenue (US 44) and follow US 44 west.13.6 mi
- Bear left on US 202.11.0 mi
- Turn right on East Elm Street (CT 4) and stay on CT 4 (Migeon Avenue, Goshen Road, Torrington Road).6.6 mi
- At the roundabout, take North Street (CT 63); it becomes Hollenbeck Road and Huntsville-South Canaan Road.10.0 mi
- Turn left on Route 126 (CT 126), which becomes Main Street.2.2 mi
- Bear right on Brewster Road (CT 126), then turn right on Point of Rocks Road to the cemetery.0.5 mi
Road and visiting notes
- It is a private, active cemetery; respect graves and any services.
Questions
Common questions
Is Grassy Hill Cemetery a ghost town?
No. It is a private cemetery in Falls Village, Canaan, with a sexton on the town's list, and it was never a town.
Who is buried at Grassy Hill Cemetery?
Among others, sixteen patriots of the American Revolution listed by the Sons of the American Revolution, who died between 1778 and 1849.
Is Grassy Hill Cemetery haunted?
A ghost town directory entry tells of a baby's ghost and crying near the graves at the top of the hill. That is a legend with no other source.
Nearby
Ghost towns and sites near Grassy Hill Cemetery
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Connecticut index.
- Dudley Town10.6 mi S · Litchfield
- Bloomfield33.3 mi E · Hartford
- Easton49.0 mi S · Fairfield
- Gay City State Park50.2 mi E · Tolland
- Johnsonville Village56.5 mi SE · Middlesex
- Bara-Hack69.8 mi E · Windham
Sources
Sources and credits
- ghosttowns.com, Grassy Hill Cemetery, read October 29, 2026: the listing in Litchfield County, "old and new graves, still in business", and the ghost story.
- Town of Canaan (Falls Village), "Town Cemetery Sextons", undated, read October 29, 2026: Grassy Hill Cemetery among the private Falls Village cemeteries, at 68 Point of Rocks Road (Route 126), its sexton, no green burials.
- Sons of the American Revolution, Patriot Research System, cemetery C-0064165, read October 29, 2026: the other names, Point of Rocks Road, the coordinates and the sixteen patriots with their dates.
- OpenStreetMap, Hunt Memorial Cemetery: the map point. Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, Cornwall (1892, 1903), South Canaan (1956) and Waterbury 1:100,000 (1993) sheets.
- Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.
Photo and map credits
- Area base map, topo and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
- Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Cornwall 1892, 1:62,500; Cornwall 1903, 1:62,500; South Canaan 1956, 1:24,000; Waterbury 1993, 1:100,000.