The Daniel Benton Homestead- Tolland Connecticut
If ever there was a place that had all the possibilities of holding paranormal activity, it would be the Daniel
Benton Homestead in Tolland Connecticut. Almost 300 years of history are held in these walls. Love, sickness,
sorrow, pain, suffering, imprisonment, all these feelings and emotions have been experienced here. And when
you are searching for the paranormal these feelings and emotions are said to fuel activity.
The History
The Daniel Benton Homestead was built in 1720 by Daniel Benton, the same year Tolland became a town. It is
the oldest standing structure in Tolland. Daniel Benton built the home which was very large for its time. Daniel
had a son who fought in the French Indian war, he also had several grandchildren who fought in the
revolutionary war. Daniels grandson Elisha is a big part of the history here. He left home to answer the
Lexington alarm, joined the freedom fighters, and fought for his new country. In 1776 Elisha was captured by the
British during the battle of Long Island and was moved to New York harbor where he was held in a prison ship.
The filthy British prison ships were not a place to be. Disease filled these ships. Shortly after his capture Elisha
contracted Smallpox. He was traded for another British soldier and allowed to return home. He made it as far as
Hartford before he could not go on. His family got word and made arrangements for him to come home.
Now, before his enlistment in the Revolutionary Army, Elisha had fallen deeply in love with a young Tolland girl
named Jemima Barrows. Jemima was twelve years younger and the Benton family vowed that the marriage
would never take place. Elisha Benton's homecoming was greeted with mixed emotions by his family. As glad as
they were to see him again, he was in a seriously weakened condition and wracked by a disease so contagious
and frequently fatal that his mere presence became a threat to everyone around him. Since only those who had
survived smallpox and had thus acquired immunity to the disease could safely care for a victim, the family faced
a real dilemma, since none of them had ever had it. No doubt their relief was great when Jemima Barrows, the
girl who had been faithful to Elisha through all the months of his absence offered to nurse the critically-ill ex-
soldier she loved so much.
Mercifully, her vigil lasted only a few weeks, for on January 21, 1777 Elisha joined his two other brothers in
death as the result of the British. Shortly after Elishas death Jemima died. Due to the times being buried
together was inappropriate so both families agreed to bury Elisha and Jemima on both sides of the carriage
drive. The other interesting story is that during the revolutionary war, Daniel opened his basement as a prison
for British and German soldiers. 18 soldiers which included two officers were held here until wars end.
It is not clear just how long stories about a supernatural presence in the Benton Homestead have circulated, but
the tradition is certainly alive. Gail White the director told us sightings of a soldier on the front side of the home
has been spotted, neighbors say there are lights and figures that move in front of windows at night when no one
is there. Also many reports of voices come from the basement where the prisoners were held.
Investigation
Our investigation lasted three nights. Gail White allowed us in the home until 7 pm and then she would lock up
and set the alarm, outside we then would set up video cameras with infrared boosters (allowing us to see in the
dark) in areas told to us that sightings were. We also set digital recorders for voices and shot several hundred
digital pictures of the home.
Evidence
Our finding over the three nights took a lot of time to review. We had taken 30 plus hours of video and
thousands of pictures. The strangest thing we picked up was a picture captured by one of our investigators
Mandi. She caught what appears to be a soldier in a window. We returned and tried over and over to recreate
the image but had no luck. Gail the director also tried to debunk it with no luck. We also picked up three voices
on the digital recorders. One voice sounds like “Guten tag” which is a German greeting. Another voice sounds
like “Verde”, we did some research and found a German word which is spelled Wurdig and pronounced the
same as Verde, and its meaning is worthiness in the military. The last whisper was what sounded like “Ryan”.
We have no investigators named Ryan so we were kind of lost. A friend of mine who spent time in Germany said
“maybe they were saying Rhine”, the Rhine river runs exactly through the area in north Germany where some
of the soldiers held there lived. I truly feel something was there that night watching us. If you look closely at the
picture you can see a flesh colored face, below it could be a button lapel and in the third window down it appears
to be two brass buttons. The Daniel Benton Homestead should be enjoyed by all, the sagging roof which shows
the age of the house, the stone walls, and the stone well in the backyard transport you back in time the minute
you exit your car.
John Zontok Founder NWCPS
If ever there was a place that had all the possibilities of holding paranormal activity, it would be the Daniel
Benton Homestead in Tolland Connecticut. Almost 300 years of history are held in these walls. Love, sickness,
sorrow, pain, suffering, imprisonment, all these feelings and emotions have been experienced here. And when
you are searching for the paranormal these feelings and emotions are said to fuel activity.
The History
The Daniel Benton Homestead was built in 1720 by Daniel Benton, the same year Tolland became a town. It is
the oldest standing structure in Tolland. Daniel Benton built the home which was very large for its time. Daniel
had a son who fought in the French Indian war, he also had several grandchildren who fought in the
revolutionary war. Daniels grandson Elisha is a big part of the history here. He left home to answer the
Lexington alarm, joined the freedom fighters, and fought for his new country. In 1776 Elisha was captured by the
British during the battle of Long Island and was moved to New York harbor where he was held in a prison ship.
The filthy British prison ships were not a place to be. Disease filled these ships. Shortly after his capture Elisha
contracted Smallpox. He was traded for another British soldier and allowed to return home. He made it as far as
Hartford before he could not go on. His family got word and made arrangements for him to come home.
Now, before his enlistment in the Revolutionary Army, Elisha had fallen deeply in love with a young Tolland girl
named Jemima Barrows. Jemima was twelve years younger and the Benton family vowed that the marriage
would never take place. Elisha Benton's homecoming was greeted with mixed emotions by his family. As glad as
they were to see him again, he was in a seriously weakened condition and wracked by a disease so contagious
and frequently fatal that his mere presence became a threat to everyone around him. Since only those who had
survived smallpox and had thus acquired immunity to the disease could safely care for a victim, the family faced
a real dilemma, since none of them had ever had it. No doubt their relief was great when Jemima Barrows, the
girl who had been faithful to Elisha through all the months of his absence offered to nurse the critically-ill ex-
soldier she loved so much.
Mercifully, her vigil lasted only a few weeks, for on January 21, 1777 Elisha joined his two other brothers in
death as the result of the British. Shortly after Elishas death Jemima died. Due to the times being buried
together was inappropriate so both families agreed to bury Elisha and Jemima on both sides of the carriage
drive. The other interesting story is that during the revolutionary war, Daniel opened his basement as a prison
for British and German soldiers. 18 soldiers which included two officers were held here until wars end.
It is not clear just how long stories about a supernatural presence in the Benton Homestead have circulated, but
the tradition is certainly alive. Gail White the director told us sightings of a soldier on the front side of the home
has been spotted, neighbors say there are lights and figures that move in front of windows at night when no one
is there. Also many reports of voices come from the basement where the prisoners were held.
Investigation
Our investigation lasted three nights. Gail White allowed us in the home until 7 pm and then she would lock up
and set the alarm, outside we then would set up video cameras with infrared boosters (allowing us to see in the
dark) in areas told to us that sightings were. We also set digital recorders for voices and shot several hundred
digital pictures of the home.
Evidence
Our finding over the three nights took a lot of time to review. We had taken 30 plus hours of video and
thousands of pictures. The strangest thing we picked up was a picture captured by one of our investigators
Mandi. She caught what appears to be a soldier in a window. We returned and tried over and over to recreate
the image but had no luck. Gail the director also tried to debunk it with no luck. We also picked up three voices
on the digital recorders. One voice sounds like “Guten tag” which is a German greeting. Another voice sounds
like “Verde”, we did some research and found a German word which is spelled Wurdig and pronounced the
same as Verde, and its meaning is worthiness in the military. The last whisper was what sounded like “Ryan”.
We have no investigators named Ryan so we were kind of lost. A friend of mine who spent time in Germany said
“maybe they were saying Rhine”, the Rhine river runs exactly through the area in north Germany where some
of the soldiers held there lived. I truly feel something was there that night watching us. If you look closely at the
picture you can see a flesh colored face, below it could be a button lapel and in the third window down it appears
to be two brass buttons. The Daniel Benton Homestead should be enjoyed by all, the sagging roof which shows
the age of the house, the stone walls, and the stone well in the backyard transport you back in time the minute
you exit your car.
John Zontok Founder NWCPS
| Remember this picture was taken around 10pm, hours after the building was locked and the alarm was set. In the picture to the right you will see the window blown up and lightened so you can view it better. It looks like a flesh tone face with a lapel or uniform button cover under the face and what looks like 2 brass buttons in the bottom window. If you look to the left you see what may be a hand. |
Mandi's pic- look at the closest window
Window picture blown up & lightened
Use of pictures or story cannot be used without written permission from John Zontok - Founder NWCPS
Mandi in the Benton Homestead
| Daniel Benton Public Visiting Hours: Open Sundays 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Closed for Holiday Weekends - September 3, Oct 8, For Information Call (860) 974-1875. |