View source for Moodus, Connecticut

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{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement <!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions --> 
| name                    = Moodus, Connecticut
| native_name             = 
| native_name_lang        = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead --> 
| settlement_type         = [[Census-designated place]] 
| image_skyline           = Amasa Day House, Moodus CT.jpg
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = Amasa Day House
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| pushpin_map             = Connecticut#USA
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| pushpin_label           = Moodus <!-- only necessary if "name" or "official_name" are too long -->
| pushpin_map_alt         = Location within the state of Connecticut and the United States
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| coordinates             = {{coord|41|30|10|N|72|27|00|W|display=inline,title}}
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| subdivision_type        = Country 
| subdivision_name        = [[United States|United States of America]] 
| subdivision_type1       = State 
| subdivision_name1       = [[Connecticut]] 
| subdivision_type2       = County 
| subdivision_name2       = [[Middlesex County, Connecticut|Middlesex]] 
| subdivision_type3       = Town 
| subdivision_name3       = [[East Haddam, Connecticut|East Haddam]] 
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| unit_pref               = US<!-- or UK or Metric --> <!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion --> <!-- for references: use <ref> tags --> 
| area_footnotes          = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2022">{{cite web |title=2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Connecticut |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2022_Gazetteer/2022_gaz_place_09.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=December 12, 2022}}</ref>
| area_water_percent      = 0.59 
| area_total_sq_mi        = 3.39
| area_land_sq_mi         = 3.37
| area_water_sq_mi        = 0.02 
| elevation_footnotes     = 
| elevation_ft            = 230 
| population_footnotes    = <ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=&g=1600000US0949110&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1| title=P1. Race – Moodus CDP, Connecticut: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| access-date=December 12, 2022}}</ref>
| population_total        = 1982 
| population_as_of        = 2020 
| population_density_sq_mi=  
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| timezone1               = [[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|EST]] 
| utc_offset1             = -5 
| timezone1_DST           = [[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|EDT]] 
| utc_offset1_DST         = -4 
| postal_code_type        = [[ZIP code]] 
| postal_code             = 06469 
| area_code_type          = 
| area_code               = [[Area code 860|860]] 
| iso_code                = 
| blank_name              = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info              = 09-49110
| blank1_name             = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info             = 2377832<ref name=GNIS>{{Cite gnis|2377832|Moodus Census Designated Place}}</ref>
| website                 = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> 
| footnotes               = }}
'''Moodus''' is a village in the town of [[East Haddam, Connecticut|East Haddam]], [[Connecticut]], United States. The village is the basis of a [[census-designated place]] (CDP) of the same name. The population of the CDP was 1,982 as of the census of 2020.<ref name="Census 2020"/>

==History==
Prior to its purchase by English settlers in 1662, the area around Moodus was inhabited by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquians]]. The names of three of the inhabiting tribes are known: the [[Quinnipiac#Long Water Land Renapi Sachemdom|Wangunks]], the [[Mohegan people|Mohegans]] and the [[Quinnipiac#Long Water Land Renapi Sachemdom|Nehantics]].<ref>[http://www.easthaddam.org/History-1756/ "About our Town: History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209073148/http://www.easthaddam.org/History-1756/ |date=February 9, 2011 }} East Haddam, Connecticut</ref> The name was derived from the Native American name for the area. The name was "Matchetmadosett" or "Matchitmoodus". It can be translated to ''the place of noises.''<ref>Skinner, Charles Montgomery (1969) "Moodus Noises" ''Myths & Legends of Our Own Land'' Singing Tree Press, Detroit, Michigan, [https://archive.org/details/mythslegendsofou03skin/page/266 page 266] {{OCLC|19933}}; reprinted from the fifth edition of 1896 of J.B. Lippincott Company.</ref> Its name possibly because of the frequent earthquakes in the area. Numerous earthquakes were recorded in the area between 1638 and 1899. Loud rumblings, possibly the "Moodus Noises", could be heard for miles surrounding the epicenter of the quakes near Mt. Tom. The land, which is now the towns of Haddam and East Haddam, was purchased by settlers from the Indians in 1662 for thirty coats. In today's money, it is worth about $100.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.easthaddam.org/History-1756/ |title=History - East Haddam |access-date=March 11, 2011 |archive-date=February 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209073148/http://www.easthaddam.org/History-1756/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the nineteenth century, Moodus was advertised as the "Twine Capital of America", with twelve mills in operation. The most successful was Brownell & Company. Moodus was in an ideal location for textile production since it had access to ample water power and shipping (via the [[Connecticut River]] and the Connecticut Valley Railroad<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.essexsteamtrain.com/history.html |title=Essex Steam Train - History of the Valley Railroad |access-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919184302/http://essexsteamtrain.com/history.html |archive-date=September 19, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>), and it was close to an enormous trading center and market, [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://historicbuildingsct.com/?cat=184|title = East Haddam| date=December 9, 2017 }}</ref> Moodus's mills primarily manufactured cotton yarn, [[cotton duck]], and twine, and that production lasted from 1819 to 1977. The mills also produced certain related products, particularly [[fishing nets]] and pearl buttons. A part of that [[textile mill]] history is preserved in the Johnsonville historical section of Moodus, named after one of the mill owners. Brownell was a pioneer with [[DuPont Corporation]] in the production of nylon products, and Brownell still manufacturers specialized textile-related products in Moodus such as archery bowstrings, helicopter cargo nets, and tennis nets.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.brownellarchery.com/BrownellCoverStory.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-date=September 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904162144/http://www.brownellarchery.com/BrownellCoverStory.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://connecticutwatertrails.com/CWTA%20-%20Resources%20-%20History%20Of%20Connecticut%27s%20Water%20Trails%20-%20History%20of%20Mills%20-%20East%20Haddam.htm|title=History of Mills In Connecticut|publisher=Connecticut Water Trails Association|access-date=February 26, 2012}}</ref>

Moodus had many local resorts that operated during the course of the early and mid-20th century. During the summer seasons of the 1940s and 1950s, people visiting the more than 30 Moodus-area resorts quadrupled East Haddam's population to about 20,000 people. Nearby Bailey Beach on [[Bashan Lake]] was popular with local residents and vacationers alike. The resorts, boarding houses and camps of Moodus attracted Christian and Jewish vacationers primarily from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and other parts of Connecticut.<ref>[http://www.simonpure.com/resorts.htm "The Resorts That Put the Mood in Moodus: When Moodus Became a Hot Spot for Vacationers"] SimonPure Productions, LLC</ref> One of the last resorts to remain in operation, Sunrise Resort, was purchased by the state of Connecticut in late 2008 to be incorporated into the adjacent [[Machimoodus State Park]] as a campground, and to protect "4,700 feet of additional frontage along the Salmon River".<ref>Church, Diane (January 3, 2009) [http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2009/01/03/news/doc49602af2ace69971749516.txt?viewmode=fullstory "Sunrise Resort bought by state, open to public"] ''The Herald Press'', archive [http://www.freezepage.com/1300109855BBRNNEXSTP?url=http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2009/01/03/news/doc49602af2ace69971749516.txt?viewmode%3Dfullstory here] by Freezepage</ref>

The village center, dubbed "Downtown Moodus", located formerly at the intersection of routes [[Connecticut Route 151|CT 151]] and [[Connecticut Route 149|CT 149]], was a popular destination for resort guests. However most of the village was razed after the citizens of East Haddam controversially voted in 1967 to accept [[urban renewal]] funding to build a new commercial district for Moodus a quarter mile east, along CT 149. East Haddam was one of the smallest towns in the United States to participate in the urban renewal program.<ref>[http://simonpure.com/moodus_main.htm "Legacy of "Progress" Gone Sour"] SimonPure Productions, LLC</ref>

==Geography==
Moodus is in eastern Middlesex County, in the northwest part of the town of East Haddam. Connecticut Routes [[Connecticut Route 149|149]] and [[Connecticut Route 151|151]] pass through the village, Route 149 running northeast–southwest and Route 151 running northwest–south. [[Colchester (CDP), Connecticut|Colchester]] is {{convert|8|mi|0}} to the northeast, [[East Hampton (CDP), Connecticut|East Hampton]] is {{convert|7|mi|0}} to the north-northwest, and the village of [[East Haddam Historic District|East Haddam]] is {{convert|4|mi|0}} to the south, on the [[Connecticut River]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the Moodus CDP has a total area of {{convert|3.4|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|0.02|sqmi|2}}, or 0.59%, are water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2022"/> The CDP includes the village of [[Bashan, Connecticut|Bashan]] and some neighborhoods next to Moodus Reservoir in the northeast.

The area is subject to earthquakes, with an intensity VI quake occurring in 1568,<ref>[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1568.php "Moodus – East Haddam, Connecticut earthquake"] [[United States Geological Survey]]</ref> and numerous quakes being recorded from 1638 onwards.<ref>Staff (1900) ''East Haddam: a brief history of its past and present'' (published as a supplement to the ''Connecticut Valley Advertiser'' vol. 30, no. 52) Connecticut Valley Advertiser, Moodus, Connecticut, {{OCLC|8838286}}</ref><ref>Perry, Elwyn (1942) "The Moodus Earthquakes and the Cause of Earthquakes in New England" ''Earthquake Notes'' 13(1/2):&nbsp;pp.&nbsp;401–404</ref> The largest earthquake recorded for Connecticut was an intensity VII quake on May 16, 1791, near Moodus.<ref>[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1791_05_16.php Historic Earthquakes: Near Moodus, Middlesex County, Connecticut, 1791 05 16"] [[United States Geological Survey]]</ref><ref>Grant, Ellsworth (2006) "The Moodus Earthquake 1791" ''Connecticut Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival'' Insiders' Guide, Guilford, Connecticut,[https://books.google.com/books?id=f7cKMxUE7GQC&pg=PA9 pages 9–14], {{ISBN|978-0-7627-3972-1}}</ref>

==Demographics==
As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 1,263 people, 529 households, and 322 families residing in the CDP.  The population density was {{convert|438.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 592 housing units at an average density of {{convert|205.7|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial composition of the CDP was 97.78% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.40% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.48% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.16% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.79% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.40% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.27% of the population.

There were 529 households, out of which 31.8% had children younger than age 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder without a husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were composed of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the CDP, the age distribution was 25.7% younger than age 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and older, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $52,188, and the median income for a family was $68,500. Males had a median income of $42,938 versus $33,214 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $32,475.  None of the families and 2.4% of the population were living below the poverty line, including none younger than age 18 and none of those older than age 64.

==Attractions==
*[[Amasa Day House]] - a [[historic house museum]] on Town Street. 
*[[Johnsonville Village, Connecticut|Johnsonville Village]] - once a thriving mill community, then a Victorian Era tourist attraction, now an abandoned ghost town.
*[[Machimoodus State Park]] "Sunrise State Park"
*Cave Hill Resort
*Bailey Beach
*Bashan Lake

==Noises==
Moodus is infamous in Connecticut for strange noises coming from the woods which have been termed "Moodus noises",<ref>Gates, Alexander E. And Ritchie, David (2007) "acoustics" ''Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes'' Facts on File, New York, [https://books.google.com/books?id=b1sXfJCiCHQC&pg=PA1 page 1], {{ISBN|978-0-8160-6302-4}}</ref> and are attributed to shallow [[Microearthquake|micro-earthquakes]].<ref>"Seismic Detective Solves 'Moodus Noises' Mystery" ''[[Hartford Courant]]'' October 19, 1981</ref><ref>Ebel, John E. (1989) "A Comparison of the 1981, 1982, 1986, and 1987–1988 Microearthquake Swarms at Moodus, Connecticut" ''Seismological Research Letters'' 60:&nbsp;pp.&nbsp;177–184</ref>  The noises can be heard most strongly from Cave Hill,<ref>{{GNIS|206070|Cave Hill}}</ref> located next to Mount Tom, East Haddam<ref>There are three Mount Toms in Connecticut and two in Middlesex County.  This is the one at {{coord|41|29|45|N|72|28|40|W|display=inline}}, {{GNIS|211499|Mount Tom}}</ref> and owned by the Cave Hill Resort.<ref name="Boudillion">Boudillion, Daniel V. (2009) [http://www.boudillion.com/nashobahill/moodusnoises.htm "The Moodus Noises & Moodus Noise Cave"]</ref>

In the book ''Legendary Connecticut'', author David Philips asserts that the Moodus noises were the source of an indigenous religious cult important to local Native Americans. Local Algonquin chiefs would gather around Mount Tom in order to experience the living presence of the god [[Hobomok (god)|Hobomok]]. [[Pequot]], [[Mohegan]] and [[Narragansett people|Narragansett]] tribes participated with this cult, and according to local Alison Guinness, the Wongums were involved as well.<ref name="Boudillion" />  Hobomok was considered the spirit of the dead and worshipped by the tribe that inhabited the area. The [[Puritan]]s that came to inhabit the area considered him evil.  However, to the native people he was more like a Zeus or a Hades, a god that can do good or bad, depending on what mood he was in.<ref>Philips, David E. (1992) ''Legendary Connecticut: Traditional Tales from the Nutmeg State'' (2nd edition) Curbstone Books, Willimantic, Connecticut, page ?, {{ISBN|1-880684-05-5}}</ref>

The Moodus noises were the basis for the otherworldly noises in [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s “[[The Dunwich Horror]]”.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lovecraft|first=Howard Phillips|title=The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Stories|year=2001|publisher=Penguin Books|editor=S. T. Joshi|isbn=0-14-218003-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/thingondoorstep00love/page/411 411 – footnote 16]|url=https://archive.org/details/thingondoorstep00love/page/411}}</ref> The local high school's athletic teams are dubbed the "Noises".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.edline.net/pages/Nathan_Hale-Ray_High_School/Activities/Athletics | title=School Website, CMS & Communications Platform &#124; Finalsite }}</ref>

==References==
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{{Middlesex County, Connecticut}}
{{Connecticut River}}

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[[Category:East Haddam, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Middlesex County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Connecticut placenames of Native American origin]]
[[Category:Villages in Connecticut]]
[[Category:Villages in Middlesex County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Connecticut]]
[[Category:Connecticut folklore]]