A New England ghost town
Remains of a building foundation in Hanton City.
Excerpted and slightly edited from an article in ecoRI News
(Read about other New England ghost towns.)
“Clues are weathered from centuries of rain, snow, ice, heat, and humidity, but not terribly difficult to find if you enjoy hiking. Scattered throughout the woods behind Fidelity Investment’s corporate office park off Douglas Pike in Smithfield, R.I., are traces of an old school, a small cemetery, cellar holes, abandoned wells, remnants of an old quarry, a threshing rock, and a maze of stone walls all slowly being reabsorbed by the wild.
“Hanton City, which holds the remains of a Colonial-era village or hamlet, fits the ghost town description quite nicely, which is one reason why it’s also known as ‘Ghost City’ and ‘Haunted City.’ The community was deserted long ago, and has been uninhabited ever since, at least by humans.
“The village is fairly spread out, with some structures being a quarter-mile to a half-mile away from each other. The Hanton City Trail provides access to the long-ago community. The village is off the former ox-cart road, on both sides, and land ownership is today a mix of privately owned (Fidelity and vague limited liability companies), conservation land (Audubon Society of Rhode Island and the Smithfield Land Trust), and publicly owned.’’