Middlebury's Fairy Forest Could Be Destroyed

Written and reported By WFSB 3 TV Audrey Russo and Quinn Pramberger

MIDDLEBURY, CT — Fresh tracks in the snow through Middlebury’s woods.

Even in the dead of winter, people will hike for a scene fit for “a midsummer night’s dream.”

Look closer, beyond the towering powerlines.

Through the trees, a collection of cinderblocks and bricks take shape in the form of a fairy village.

Middlebury’s Town Historian Robert Rafford says the fairy forest, sometimes called the little people’s village, wasn’t built by elves or conjured by fairies.

“That kind of legend is online,” he said.

The reality is a less magical one.

Rafford says the village was crafted by a down-on-his-luck gas station owner who was trying to launch a nursery business during the Great Depression.

“He started to build these little houses out of concrete and stones ceramics, and that’s what remains today,” said Rafford.

A bunch of houses in the woods, and when they’re buried in snow, blink and you’ll miss them.

But to those who know the lore, it’s worth protecting.

“I’m asked about this more than any other thing in town. I got a call from Japan somebody was doing a story about it for a Japanese newspaper. It’s unique and it inspires people to think about what it could be,” continued Rafford.

But what it could be is cursed by construction.

The State Department of Transportation is planning to re-engineer Exit 17 off nearby Route 84.

The highway is so close to the fairy forest that there is concern any roadwork could damage it.

They released a statement, saying, “CTDOT is aware of the village, but as we are still in preliminary design, it is too early to say if that area will be impacted. We do not have a construction timeline, as that will be developed as design moves forward.”

Paraphrasing Shakespeare’s famous line: though the fairy forest be but little, the fight to save it is fierce.

Rafford has written to the state, asking them to declare the landmark a historic site.

Hoping the extra bit of attention can preserve the spellbinding wonder of a walk through the woods.

Editor's note: This story was reported by WFSB 3 TV and reposted on Patch with permission. For more stories from WFSB 3 TV, click here.