Dudleytown, a small part of the township of Cornwall, located in northwestern Connecticut, has experienced an unfathomable amount of bad luck since its inception in 1747. Bouts of insanity, suicides, murder, and unrecognizable creatures of the night have plagued the area throughout its history.
Located between 3 large hills, it has somewhat mountainous terrain, rocky soil and a high-density forest named the “Dark Entry Forest”. Rumours of a curse cast upon the Dudley family flourished and much to the chagrin of the current property owners, linger to this day.
The curse began in England in the year 1510. Edmund Dudley, one of the patriarchs of the family, was sentenced to death and beheaded for being part of a plot to overthrow King Henry VIII. It is said that a curse was placed on the family and all its descendants due to this treasonous behaviour.
Bad luck did indeed seem to fall upon the family as many were killed or beheaded for various infractions. Edmund’s grandson Robert managed to escape a beheading and left England for the new world with his family. It was his grandson Gideon who purchased the parcel of land that would bear the family name.
As people began to move to the area, the curse became more and more evident. Winters were brutal, and the soil was unsuitable for most crops. The 26 families that had settled there struggled to survive, not only because of the conditions but also the curse, which seemed to touch almost everyone in the area of the Dark Entry Forest. A fatal fall, struck by lightning, sinking into madness, demonic sightings, disappearances and suicides were common. In time, the last of the Dudleys had passed and the area known as Dudleytown was swallowed up by the overgrown forest. All that’s visible today are a few ruptured foundations and remains of old cellars.
In 1924, the Dark Entry Forest Association was formed and to this day, preserves the area keeping the ghost-hunting tourists and adventure seekers at bay.
To Daryle Dunlap, the Dudleytown tale and many stories that go along with it seemed like a good, local angle to create a beer brand and brewery. An avid home-brewer with a commercial construction background, Daryle made the brave decision to leap from his home-based brewery to a full-scale commercial operation.
In the nearby town of Windsor CT, Daryle and his nephew, Jonathan Levine found the perfect location. The former Mototown USA building was the largest indoor motocross facility in the country, but it had closed its doors and sat dormant for 10 years. Nestled between a huge women’s softball facility (Fastpitch Nation) and a recently completed sports/event stadium, Daryle knew it had the potential to become the ideal location for a brewery, taproom, restaurant and gathering place.
Like many entrepreneurs in the first couple of months of 2020, he was about to have his final meeting with the bank, when the March 13 announcement of COVID changed everything. After lockdown, banks wouldn’t pick up the phone, so Daryle was forced to raise as much capital as possible from friends and family. Things looked bleak until a well-known commercial real estate broker agreed to invest and the project was back on the go.
Daryle’s construction background gave him the vision and skills to turn the building into a marvellous spectacle and gathering place for the community and surrounding areas. With grain handling, canning and cellar tanks on the lower floor, his Specific 15-barrel, 3-vessel brewhouse is in prominent view on the main floor. The décor features lots of wood and lighting that enhances the vibe of the Dark Entry Forest. The grand opening in August of 2023 was a huge success drawing 1500 people. Dudleytown employs 25 full and part-time staff who are kept busy as his taproom has become one of the most popular places in town.
In 2022, a radio station reported that Dudleytown was so haunted it had to be closed to the public. Regardless of what you decide to believe, there’s no denying that the curse does not extend to Windsor and is certainly not standing in the way of Daryle Dunlap’s runaway success!
