Massachusetts Has A Lost Town Most People Don’t Know About

Massachusetts has a surprising number of ghost towns. We’ve already told you about the haunted settlement of Dogtown and the tragic story of Dana, but the Bay State is actually home to another another fascinating lost town. This is the curious story of Catamount, Massachusetts.

Catamount was once a small village of Colrain, Massachusetts. It was founded as a farming community in the early 1800s, though it did see its fair share of travelers looking to enjoy the scenery or explore Pocumtuck Mountain. The town was a quiet place with a tight-knit community. Many residents were on friendly terms with a local judge who had left urban Massachusetts for the peace and solitude of the wilderness.

Wikimedia Commons/jrclark

Catamount was a small town, but it wasn’t without its distinctions. The town’s schoolhouse was the first in the nation to fly the American flag. Modern-day visitors to the former site of the town can check out a monument commemorating this event. The residents of Catamount also created MacLeod Pond through the construction of a dam and held an annual Old Hone Days festival, which was attended by the state’s governor and people from miles around.

3/ Unfortunately, Catamount’s beautiful and remote location led to its abandonment. It was hard to access the small town in the mountains, as roads and trains bypassed the area. The town was abandoned by the early 1900s, and the state created Catamount State Forest in its honor. Many of the old paths through the woods created by locals to reach more populated areas are now hike trails.

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Google/Daniel West

If you go looking for the old town of Catamount, you might be lucky enough to stumble upon an old home foundation or wall. Visitors occasionally bring small American flags to mark the spot where the historic old schoolhouse once stood.

To learn more about the abandoned history of Massachusetts, check out these deserted spots around the state.