Haley Farm State Park

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Haley Farm State Park
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location Groton , New London County , USA
surface 1.08 km²
Geographical location 41 ° 20 '  N , 72 ° 1'  W Coordinates: 41 ° 19 '55 "  N , 72 ° 0' 33"  W.
Haley Farm State Park, Connecticut
Haley Farm State Park
Setup date 1970
administration Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection, Connecticut State
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Haley Farm State Park is a state park in the US state of Connecticut in the area of ​​the municipality of Groton . The purpose of the park is to preserve farmland that has been cultivated since the colonial era (-1776). This is where Caleb Haley's dairy farm was located. In 1953 the land was sold to AC White who built Mumford Cove and sold 198 acres (80 hectares) to the State of Connecticut . In 1970 the land was given to the state for $ 300,000. In 1975 a bike path was established from Mystic to Noank , which runs partly in the area of ​​Haley Farm State Park. An additional 57 acres (23 hectares) was purchased for $ 913,300 and added to the park in 2002. The park now covers 267 acres (108 hectares) and is directly adjacent to the Bluff Point Coastal Reserve . The park is reserved for cyclists and hikers.

history

The land that is now Haley Farm State Park was part of a larger area that was given to John Winthrop Jr. in 1648 or 1649 . Winthrop was governor of Saybrook Colony and is often considered "Connecticut's first governor". Later the land was split up and the piece on which Haley Farm is located was named Fort Hill Farm . The farm was acquired by Starr Chester in 1789 and passed to Noyes Barber in 1833. In 1852 the area was divided again and the farm was sold to Henry B. Lewis. 400 acres were sold to Caleb Haley in 1869 for $ 12,000. Haley worked the land, built stone walls and raised horses in the Racetrack Pond area . The land passed to his son, Samuel Haley, in 1924. He continued to run the farm until his death in 1947 when his daughter Juliet Haley inherited the land. The farm produced cream and milk, which was mainly sold to Noank, West Mystic and Mystic. In 1953 the farm was sold by the family to AC White, who gave up the farm and built the Mumford Cove sewer . White put the 250-acre plot of land with Haley Farm up for sale. In 1960 the farm building burned down and the other buildings were demolished in 1973 after being documented for possible subsequent reconstruction.

In 1963 the first efforts were made to acquire the land and protect it from urban sprawl. The municipality opposed a reallocation for a planned multi-residential area by Algernon-Blair's . Then the land was sold to O&G Construction Co. by Alcor Inc. in 1966 . However, 198 acres were returned to White after O&G Construction "was behind with their payments and taxes." In July 1970, the state acquired 198 acres of Haley Farm from AC White for $ 300,000. The money was raised by federal funding for $ 150,000, state funding for $ 100,000 and $ 50,000 by the Groton Open Space Association . The Groton Open Space Association is a local organization that was set up especially for this project. They raised the remaining funds until 1970. At that time, the Park and Forest Commission had no plans to convert the area into a park. However, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officially recognized Haley Farm as a Connecticut State Park since July 1970 .

In 1975 the Mystic to Noank bike path was established, which runs partly over the area of ​​Haley Farm State Park. In 1981, a plan to expand the cycle path was prevented by residents because there were concerns that the cycle paths would be misused by motorcyclists. In 1980 there was a serious motorcycle accident.

In 2002 an additional 57 acres (23 hectares) were purchased for an additional $ 913,300 and integrated into the park. The land came from GuerraDeAngelis Trustees (O&G, 49.95 acre) and Bowen Briggs (7.14 acre). Funding came from the State of Connecticut's Recreation and Natural Heritage Trust Program . In 2001 the Racetrack Pond Area was acquired by the Mumford Cove Association . The park was connected directly to the Bluff Point Coastal Reserve by a footbridge . The bridge spans the Groton and Stonington Street Railway .

vegetation

Leary writes that the park features a mosaic of high altitude pastures and wetlands. Tidal algae and plants can be found along the coast, including salt grass, sedges and peat moss . The swampy areas are home to red maples and tulip trees , inland there are cherries, hickory and other bushy plants. The history of the area can be interpreted by examining the trees: In 1973 a white oak with an age of 142 years was found, a tree at the upper limit of its life. In the first 34 years of life it showed immense growth, which was reflected in the hurricane Great September Gale of 1815 which destroyed many of the older trees and cleared the undergrowth. The annual rings from 1918 show an enlargement because the chestnut crayfish created additional space and after the New England hurricane (1938) there was another growth spurt. The 1960s showed little growth and serves as evidence of the very dry weather conditions in New England during this period. Haley Farm State Park is a precious habitat that compresses a great biological diversity into a small area. The growth and composition of the forest areas is constantly changing due to large storms and other biological factors, which leads to a constant "self-adaptation" of the forest.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
  2. ^ State Parks and Forests : Funding, Recruiting, and Referrals. (PDF)
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Sidney Van Zandt and Priscilla Pratt: Haley Farm: A History . Groton Open Space Association. Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 15, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / gosaonline.org
  4. ↑ a b c DEEP: Haley Farm State Park . State of Connecticut. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b Poro, Joan: Carriage House Razed At Haley Farm . In: The Day . June 1, 1973. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  6. ↑ were in arrears on their payments and back taxes ". Name = gosa
  7. ↑ a b c All Of Haley Farm Is Sought For Park . In: The Day . December 2, 1970. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  8. ^ Rancourt, Linda: State Says Nothing Will Stop Motorcyclists At State Park . In: The Day . August 20, 1981. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  9. ^ Alcedo, Gladys: State Adds 57 Acres To Haley Farm State Park . In: The Day . June 5, 2002. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  10. ↑ G&S Trolley Trail . Town of Groton, Connecticut. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 29, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.groton-ct.gov
  11. ↑ the park is a mosaic of upland and wetland vegetation types. Leary, Joseph (2004). A Shared Landscape: A Guide & History of Connecticut's State Parks & Forests. Friends of the Connecticut State Parks, Inc. p. 24.
  12. ↑ a b Leary, Joseph: A Shared Landscape: A Guide & History of Connecticut's State Parks & Forests . Friends of the Connecticut State Parks, Inc., 2004, ISBN 0974662909 , p. 24.
  13. ↑ "squeezes a great variety of biological diversity into a very small space."

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