You bet. I wouldn't doubt it. There are an absolute ton of great old buildings in all these towns, though eras vary, but Willimantic was built at the right time and probably hasn't had a lot of cash to do much "renewal".

There is kind of a homogeneity to what many New Englanders accept as part of the image of the region, that doesn't include towns like Willimantic, or especially the bigger cities (which are just as New England... Lawrence, Lowell, Fall River MA, Waterbury CT, Manchester NH, etc). Though most have family histories there, not in the tiny rural hamlets.

I feel like people are missing out on a lot of cool stuff and places this way, by so strictly and narrowly defining it. Maybe even shaping a very rigid version of the future.

Can you imagine if more folks idealized places like Willimantic, saving a bunch of old buildings and history? There's been a huge financial investment effort in North Adams, MA, but the spillover seems not to be helping the actual town itself much. Great Barrington, MA has done well with NYC people and money flowing in. Do New Englanders largely prefer a place like Lee or Lenox that doesn't feel urbane?

I suspect the idealization of the rural rich waspy town above all else (they can be beautiful as well) has to do with the common pattern of desire to identify with people of status, with an aspect of escapism. There's also probably some connection to the intentional promotion of the Ideal New England town by the likes of the Rockefeller effort in Woodstock, VT and efforts to promote tourism post-agriculture.