The Desert of Maine

The Saharan vistas were once a flourishing Maine farm. Now, it is the only desert in the North East, surrounded by perfectly healthy Maine vegetation. This place is only miles from the ocean and even closer to Freeport, the shopping mecca of New England. How did this piece of land become an arid, moon-like landscape. Most people attribute its creation to the bad farming practices of the eighteenth century; others believe there is an infernal ploy at play, a curse which drove the farm owners away.

View a video (YouTube)  made by people who work at the site.

Gungywamp

This place in Groton, Connecticut means “Church of the People (Wikipedia)” in ancient Gaelic. It is a walled complex which sits on top of a thirty-foot cliff, a few miles away from the Long Island Sound. It consists of a double circle of massive standing stones. Archeological excavations have disclosed a stone floor between the circles. The site may have been used as a ritual altar. Traces of burning were found as well as pieces of charcoal from the first millennium.

People who go there regularly claim that particularly interesting stone is so called “Rock of Tears”. They noticed that visitors who walk near this rock suddenly become depressed and inexplicably sad. Many start crying without knowing the reason; others’ nose or gums start bleeding. An electromagnetic reading showed strong activity. What it represents today to people of our age is certainly different from what it meant to the ancient people who inhabited the area. I may have been a site of ritual sacrifices, or some sort of astronomical calendar, but it surely was a place where humans connected with their God(s).

Douglass Monument

Lucas Douglass died on the cold night of December 5, 1895, a seventy-year -old man without friends, family, or money. He died in utter poverty, penniless, alone… until someone discovered his will. He left thousands of dollars behind and asked that they be spent to build a monument to – HIMSELF. It was to be thirty-four feet high, made of Italian marble. It was to include a headstone, carved urns, and a 140-foot stone wall around the entire plot. The monument includes Douglass’ portrait and an epitaph: “I have heard Thy call.”

Mr. Douglass was certainly overlooked in life, but the paradox is that his monument is visited by hundreds of tourists, or curiosity hunters – we don’t know. We also don’t know much more about Lucas Douglass, but we can guess that he was tired of anonymity and craved attention. He got it in his own death and by his own design.