Mount Tom State Park

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Mount Tom State Park
Mount Tom Tower

Mount Tom Tower

location Morris , Washington , Litchfield USA
surface 0.93 km²
WDPA ID 55557996
Geographical location 41 ° 41 ′  N , 73 ° 17 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 41 ′ 29 "  N , 73 ° 16 ′ 35"  W
Mount Tom State Park, Connecticut
Mount Tom State Park
Setup date 1915
administration Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection, Connecticut State
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Mount Tom State Park is a state park in the US state of Connecticut in the area of ​​the parishes of Litchfield , Morris, and Washington . It lies south of US Route 202 and covers 93 hectares (231 acres) on the southwestern shore of Mount Tom Pond (23 hectares, 56 acres). The park is one of the oldest parks in the state park system. The Mount Tom Tower observation tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

geography

The park is located south of Mount Tom Pond and is largely bounded along its south side by the Bantam River . This flows into the Shepaug River near the southwestern end of the park . The Mount Tom Pond drains into the Bantam River, it forms three bays to the northeast, southeast and southwest, and reaches a depth of about 13 m. Mount Tom (393 m), on the other hand, rises about 150 m above the surroundings. About a kilometer further to the southwest, Little Mount Tom rises to 331 m above sea level .

history

Mount Tom State Park was one of 15 parks established by the first State Park Commission between 1913 and 1918 and was the first to be opened to the public. The area was donated by Charles H. Senff . After Senff's death, his widow, Gustavia A. Senff , organized the transfer, which was completed in 1917.

Mount Tom Tower

One condition of the foundation was the maintenance of a permanent observation tower on top of Mount Tom. The State Park Commission recommended replacing the wooden structure that had existed since 1888 with a stone tower. Alfred M. Turner, the secretary of the commission, planned the tower and a local contractor built the tower from uncut black gneiss loosely based on the plans. The tower measures 10 m (34 ft) and is 4.6 m in diameter. It was completed in 1921. From its platform you can Mount Everett in Massachusetts , the Catskillsim State New York and Long Iceland Sound view.

geology

Gneiss and mica slate predominate in the park . It is rich in minerals such as quartz , garnet and hornblende . There are also some large boulders from the Ice Age .

Freetime activities

Recreational opportunities include hiking, fishing, swimming and canoeing on Mount Tom Pond , as well as picnicking.

See also

In Holyoke , Massachusetts, there is a counterpart of the same name to Mount Tom on the Connecticut River : Mount Tom State Reservation .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
  2. ^ State Parks and Forests : Funding, Recruiting, and Referrals. (PDF)
  3. ↑ Mount Tom State Park . In: State Parks and Forests . Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  4. ↑ NHRP Registration Form: Mount Tom Tower . National Park Service. December 12, 1993. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  5. ↑ Mount Tom Pond. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, September 2011, accessed May 17, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Connecticut State Parks: A Centennial Overview . Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. July 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  7. ^ The Geology of Mount Tom State Park . In: State Parks and Forests . Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

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