Stars Hollow

Stars Hollow is the fictional small town (population: 9973) in the U.S. state of Connecticut that is the setting for the CW series Gilmore Girls. The town square has a gazebo which has the town's Liberty Bell sign, which reads: "The bell at Stars Hollow was cast in 1780 to celebrate the first anniversary of the town. The bell cracked the first time it was rung and weighed 2080 pounds. The strike of the bell is E-flat. On June 6, 1944 when Allied forces landed in France, the sound of the bell was broadcast to all parts of the country.Stars Hollow was named after the founder and was dedicated to Ms. Casey the daughter of Mr. Conor "Star" Hollow.

Across the four streets you will find Stars Hollow High School, Luke's Diner, Gabby's Flowers, Doose's Market, Taylor's Ice Cream Shoppe, Weston's Bakery, the Post Office, a Travel Agency, the Vintage Clothes Store, a Law Office, the News Stand, Faretta's Barber Shop, Miss Patty's Dance Studio, Stars Hollow Books, the Church, Le Chat Club, Stars Hollow Beauty Supply, Al's Pancake World (which no longer sells pancakes, but rather different types of international cuisine) the park, Gypsy's and the Gas Station, Stars Hollow Music and Kim's Antiques. There is also a knitting store that Mrs. Kim frequents but has never been seen.

Although some within the town doubt the theory, the traditionally accepted legend surrounding the town's name involves two star-crossed lovers who seemed destined never to be together, until separate cosmological phenomena involving stars led them to each other at the spot where the town now exists. This is celebrated annually at the Firelight Festival, shown in 1st season episode "Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers" and 4th season episode "Nag Hammadi is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels."

There was also a "battle" fought in Stars Hollow where 12 men stood and waited for the red coats who never came. This battle is re-enacted annually, shown in first season episode "Love and War and Snow" and in 5th season episode "Women of Questionable Morals." This second occurrence marked the beginning of the addition of the town prostitute, who slept with the British general to delay the troops.

It is unknown where exactly the town is located; since it is fictional, it may not have any specific intended location. However, it is stated on the show that Hartford is within 30 minutes and that New Haven is 22.8 miles away. On episode 17 of season 6, Lorelai states that Stars Hollow is near New London, Connecticut and not near Preston, which in reality it should be vice versa. It also was stated in Rory's best friend, Lane's bachelorette party when they ran into the bachelor party, that they could drive over to Beacon Falls, located in southern Connecticut.

EMILY: Fine. How far is it from Preston to New London? [A female voice says something in German.]

LORELAI: What's going on? Where are you?

EMILY: In Preston, apparently, thought we're supposed to be at an estate sale in New London.

[The German voice pipes in again.]

RICHARD [grumbles]: Bag of bolts.

EMILY: And this GPS contraption your father insisted on buying is speaking German.

LORELAI: Well, New London's right near Stars Hollow, and Preston's... not.

—Season 6, Ep. 17 "I'M OK, YOU'RE OK"

On a more recent episode Lane's band says that Stars Hollow is very close to the real-life town of Beacon Falls. It is the best reference point as of yet for its location, map-wise. Stars Hollow was inspired by and is loosely based on the real town of Washington Depot, Connecticut (located in the middle of the western half of the state, about 45 minutes from both Hartford and New Haven) which writer Amy Sherman-Palladino once traveled through. Additionally, the town of Woodbury is mentioned by Taylor Doose as a neighboring town to Stars Hollow, and in reality it is a neighboring town to Washington Depot, as is New Preston hence it further validates this location as a possibility. The town square is actually located on the Warner Brothers studio back lot; in fact it is just around the corner from the exterior set for the hospital from ER.

As mentioned above, Stars Hollow is revealed to be 30 minutes from Hartford and 22.8 miles from New Haven. If one was to place Stars Hollow in real-life Connecticut, the best location would be a few miles north of Southington in Hartford County. Although, this placement would debunk Beacon Falls as being nearby.

Some calculations show that the town might be located uncannily close to Burlington, a small town about a half-hour drive from Hartford. On this vein, another possibility is at or near Meriden, a town that is also about a half-hour drive from Hartford, but further south-east than Burlington. Also adding to the reputability of Meriden as a possible location is the distance, from New Haven, given by Yahoo!, 22.8 miles. This relates to an exchange between Jess and Rory in a late season three episode:

Rory: Yes, I am. It’s got all the classes I want and some really great teachers, and plus, you know, as an added bonus, it’s really close to here.

Jess: 22.8 miles.

Rory: How’d you know that?

Jess: Do you Yahoo?

—Season 3, Ep. 18 "Happy Birthday, Baby"

Meriden, however, is very unlike Stars Hollow. Wallingford, Connecticut borders Meriden, and both looks more like Stars Hollow and acts more like Stars Hollow. In fact, the green in Wallingford looks uncannily like the one in the television show, and many of the surrounding shops and restaurants match the set of the show. Also, Rory attended a private school called Chilton in near Stars Hollow in Hartford, and Wallingford is home to Choate, which is a prestigious private school.

Other possibilities include Middlebury, a small town 22.7 miles from New Haven, and Plantsville, another small and quaint town 29 minutes from Hartford and 22.1 miles from New Haven. Stars Hollow may also be near East Haddam, as seen in the first season when Rory first goes to Chilton. The jeep passes the Gelston House, which is an inn/restaurant next to the Goodspeed Opera house in East Haddam. However, this location is much further than 30 minutes from Hartford. However, it does have the same small town feel as Stars Hollow.

It is also quite possible that, as stated earlier in this article, Stars Hollow has no intended location. References to various towns may simply be made to add an element of realism to the show or to throw the audience off. Another possibility is that the misleading references are all unintentional continuity errors on the part of the writers. Coincidently Stars Hollow and Washington Depot have many things in common. Washington Depot uses a town meeting style government. Washington Depot was founded in 1779, the bell in Stars Hollow cracked in 1780 during the first anniversary. Furthermore a small eatery was founded recently in Washington Depot called Marty's. The homes and buildings in the town all match the style of that in Stars Hollow.

Many of the sets for Stars Hollow were also used in The Music Man, The Dukes of Hazzard, and The Waltons. The Dragonfly Inn was the Waltons' house, the town's high school was the Hazzard County Courthouse, and the exterior of Lorelai's house was Uncle Jesse's.