Stars Hollow

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Stars Hollow is the fictional small town in Connecticut that is the setting for the WB 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."

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.

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 nearby New London, Connecticut. 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. The town square is actually located on the Warner Brothers studio backlot; 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 and New London 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"

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.

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.

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.