Gaylordsville Spite House, New Milford, Connecticut:
This peculiar wedding cake shaped house in Gaylordsville was built to annoy and disturb the establishment. According to the Town of New Milford’s tourism page, the “spite house” was constructed in 1961 by a man named Jan Pol, who was accused of impregnating his 15 year old foster daughter. Though he denied the allegations and was not charged with a crime, Connecticut State Police and social services removed their newborn from the home and family – never to return.
In protest of the authorities Pol constructed an eyesore property. He described his clapboard ziggurat as a “tower of grief” a “monument to injustice” and a memorial to the baby girl, Catherine Dessareau Pol. Many decades later Catherine claimed, rightly or wrongly, that she had been kidnapped by the state. In recent years the structure at 8 Riverview Road has been renovated and used as an art studio.
In 2011, the sad story of the “Cake House” was featured in New Milford’s local newspaper: https://www.newstimes.com/living/article/sad-story-behind-cake-box-structure-in-135701.php.
View on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C12adDbPfuf/
View on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dm8YWyyA4dWQ5L6u7
