The Ghost Town of Ricker Basin
New England Legends Podcast
Jeff Belanger
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 14 August 2025
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Episode 409 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the ruins of Ricker Basin, a Waterbury, Vermont, ghost town that survived just over a century before a massive 1927 storm ravaged the region, killing over 50 people and leaving behind a village that was no longer viable. Today the cellar holes, cemetery, and a dilapidated structure is all that stands as a testament that someone was once here.
See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-409-the-ghost-town-of-ricker-basin/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We're driving up Little River Road in the town of Waterbury, Vermont. |
| 0:08.0 | We are, and Ray, we are pretty close to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory, if you want to stop |
| 0:13.0 | by after our adventure today. |
| 0:15.0 | Absolutely. |
| 0:16.0 | I'm always down for ice cream. |
| 0:17.0 | Okay, so we're passing a dam near Waterbury Reservoir. |
| 0:20.0 | Yep, and that dam is part of the reason why we're driving into Little River State Park. |
| 0:24.7 | This is a gorgeous recreation area. |
| 0:26.9 | Looks like a good place for a campsite or a picnic. |
| 0:29.7 | That's all true. |
| 0:31.0 | Today. |
| 0:32.1 | But there was a time when this place saw a horrible disaster that left behind death and destruction. |
| 0:38.2 | Construction on that dam we just passed began in 1935 in response to a flood that killed dozens of people and created a place |
| 0:44.6 | we've come to see. We're in Waterbury looking for the ruins of Ricker Basin, an old farming community |
| 0:50.5 | that today is a ghost town. |
| 0:58.0 | Hello, I'm Jeff Belanger. |
| 1:01.1 | Welcome to episode 409 of the New England Legends podcast. |
| 1:02.1 | And I'm Ray Osier. |
| 1:05.4 | Thank you for riding along with us on our mission to chronicle every legend in New England one story at a time. |
| 1:07.2 | Also, soon we're going to be launching a new companion podcast that features interviews with you. |
| 1:13.5 | Me? |
| 1:13.9 | You and, well, maybe, but other people, mostly our listeners. |
... |
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