The Old Connecticut Path Part 2

Today, I returned to the Old Connecticut Path, the same place I wrote about two posts ago. Since my last trip there didn’t work out well, I wanted to reexamine the area and either confirm the stone structure was a part of the trail or not. I also wanted to find where the trail crossed the river. 

My method was to start by reexamining the stone structure and explore the area around it to see if there was evidence of an old road. While doing this, I would work my way to the river and then follow the river to find the crossing. If I found the crossing, I would then find the old road and follow it back to the main road and see if it led me to the stone structure. 

I first learned of this structure from a series of videos about the Old Connecticut Path, taken by Jason Newton, where he found and videoed sections of the path. One of these showed this structure and the river crossing. He speculated that this structure may have been built to carry the path through the marshy area at this location. He cited a book from 1940, "The Great Trail of New England," that was a historical reference on the path. The book compiled information from many sources, including diaries and journals from the past. He said there was a section from a journal written by an ancestor of some of the earliest settlers describing the path as he remembered it in the early twentieth century.  One paragraph said that flat stones built up the path through a low-lying marshy area. 

I knew that I had to see the structure for myself. Click here if you want to see the first video, as I will not include the same pictures of the structure here. The structure consists of one long wall going in an east/west direction. At each end are walls connecting at a 90-degree angle going in a southerly direction. (You will see all this in the accompanying video.) The north end wall appears to have been started but not completed. All three sections are the same width and construction. Although the wall is wide enough and flat enough to have been used as a road, it certainly wouldn't have been a smooth ride. In addition, there was no way to mount the wall without physically climbing it.. The north end has a downward slope, but I believe this is from a collapse. 

I also explored the area on all sides of the structure and found no evidence of a well-used trail, certainly not one that would have carried horses, carts, and wagons. If you read the book I mentioned above, you will learn this was a very popular path (road). If this structure was used for the road, the two connecting walls wouldn't have been a part of it, and there would not have been sharp, 90-degree angles. If you read the description of the wall (excerpt above) it does not say this was a massive pile of stones. It only mentions some "flat rocks...used as stepping stones". 

I continued my exploration and did find the old path where it crossed the Mt. Hope river. It was obvious this was an old, heavily travelled road.

Northside Crossing

Southside Crossing

In the top picture, you can also see the stepping stones for crossing if needed. This crossing is clearer in my video. Following the road to the east, towards the existing highway, it did not go near the stone structure. Therefore, my opinion is this was not used as part of the Old Connecticut Path. 

Now, this opens up another mystery: What is it?

Ceremonial Stone Landscape- Maybe

The other day Jack and I hiked a trail known as Tri-Town Blue Loop in North Stonington CT. I watched a video posted by another TouTuber and thought it might be interesting. I had no idea how interesting it was. 

It wasn’t long before I started seeing interesting man-made stone formations. The further I went into the area, the more I came across.  Here is my video of the hike. Tri-town Blue Trail 

I want to share some more commentary on my hike. Poor planning meant my battery was running low, so I needed to cut down on my video. Of course, this was right as I was in the heart of the stone structures. I will be going back as soon as possible and will make sure I have a recharging device. 

I haven’t found any “official” information as to whether this is a recognized Ceremonial Stone Landscape (CSL) or not, but I did find some information on signs posted in the area. The area is known as Pequot land. I think it’s a CSL for several reasons. I counted at least ten stone prayers. I define a stone prayer as a boulder or boulders with smaller stones placed on top of them. There was one particularly nice one. 

There were also several cairns and larger stone piles. The piles were hand-stacked and consisted of similar size stones. The area itself did not appear to have been cultivated or improved in any way. There were also many stone rows. These rows were massive, most being between three and five high. They were well made with some architectural elements and niches. I find it hard to believe they were made by the farmer. 

As I normally do, I wondered where all the stones came from. I can’t even estimate how many stones were used. I did come across a black granite quarry which possibly been one source for the stones but would the quarrymen have bothered to build these walls?

I also came across an interesting stone enclosure. It was a semicircle and a rectangle if that makes sense. There was also a “pen” made from the same stone as the rows. It was square and I don’t think there was an opening as would be expected if it was a livestock pen   However, by this time Jack and I were in a hurry to be done. I will go back to this later. 

There was also an old mill dam and pond. I did not see evidence of a foundation but I will spend more time here next time. This was a four-mile hike and although not extremely difficult it was for this old man. I took an alternate trail cutting off about a mile. Next time I’ll come in from the other end of the loop. 

Old Connecticut Path

After several weeks of cold, windy, wintery weather, I finally could do some exploring. Several years ago I watched a video about the Old Connecticut Path and a stone wall purportedly used as part of the path. After two years of trying, I finally located the likely location. 

Mt. Hope River

The Connecticut Path began as a Native American Trail starting at the Massachusetts Bay and heading southwest toward Windsor, CT. Through the years, much of the route was widened and improved, much of it is paved and built up. There are some sections where the original path is still visible. Today I wanted to find this wall and try to determine if it was part of the road, and see what other evidence of the path there might be

A rusted relic

I’ll begin by saying this exploration wasn’t for the faint of heart. Before arriving, I had done some research on the area I would be hiking. On both Google Earth and CalTopo I could see the wall. I also could see there was a river with steep slopes on one side. What I didn’t see was the field full of thorn bushes before I could get to the wall. The area was also frozen marsh. But after hacking through that and getting only slightly wet I found the wall. 

The wall was exactly as the video depicted. It ran east/west through a marsh. It was anywhere from 5 to 6 feet wide and from 3 to 4 feet high. I would say it was 100 yards long. Its construction was what is called a filled wall. This means it had two sides made of large field stones and the middle was filled with smaller stones. The base of the two sides were made of large flat, rectangular stones. I couldn’t tell if they were quarried. This is the first wall I have seen with that feature. I have read about some colonial walls being built in this way to provide citizens access to church services in the event of deep snow. This wall would have made travelling through this marsh much easier.

I spent some time looking around for any signs of the path. I did not find anything. It should have been fairly obvious since it was a well-traveled road. One other thing I noticed, the two ends of the wall were “finished”, there were no ramps or inclines that would have allowed travelers to get onto the wall. One end did have a tree that had grown after the wall was built, and there was some stones scattered around that may have been used as a ramp but I can’t say for sure. The other end of the wall was a ninety degree corner and the wide wall continued for another 100 feet. At the east corner, the wall continued as a single row until it reached the current road. This has me questioning whether this was used as a road or not.

East end

West end

I next headed west towards the river and was not able to locate any further evidence of the road. According to the video, it crossed the river via stepping stones and appeared well travelled. I had arrived at the river and was at the top of a steep slope. It was obvious this wasn’t the crossing point. I walked along the ridge and saw I was losing elevation and was soon at river level. Looking at my map, I headed north along the river edge but did not find any signs of a trail. 

The view from the top

Back at the wall I again found no sign of a trail. I followed the single row wall and on the other side was what appeared to be a small stream. It was obstructed by a large fallen tree and an even denser section of thorns. I could not follow it any further. After viewing the video again, I saw that this was actually the old road. Had I been able to follow it I would have been able to see evidence of the road. 

One thing struck me as odd. The fact that there appeared no way for someone to get onto the wall without having to climb was one. Although this trail was first used by Native Americans on foot, it eventually was used by horses and carts. How would they have gotten to the top? As you can see by the picture above, the west end now has a tree growing through it. It appears the tree displaced the stones at the end of the wall, but it does not appear there are enough stones there to have been a ramp. 

The angled wall at the east end

The east end of the wall continued as a single row wall. The wider wall took a ninety degree turn to the south and continued a short distance. It almost looked like there was a ramp there but even if there were a horse pulling a cart, it could not make the turn at that angle. 

I will take another trip to this location to find the crossing. From the video I could definitely see the location of the road. It even splits on the other side of the river. I did explore along the east river bank, but it was extremely difficult. I will head back when the ground has had a chance to thaw.

Here is a link to the YouTube video. https://youtu.be/qLGQIy-UylY?si=i6PiKyaSXiowo2nN

Stay tuned for next adventure on the Old Connecticut Path.

Huguenot Fort

 It's amazing how much history there is in your own background when you take the time to look. Today I went to one of those places, the Old Huguenot Fort in Oxford, MA.

Monument On Site

The town of Oxford was settled by the Huguenots around 1686. The Huguenots were French Protestants forced to flee France because of their religious beliefs and settled in London. They then came to Oxford to settle in Nipmuck Country.

Southwest Parapet

They built a fort on the top of a hill. This fort had a view of the surrounding countryside and was built to hold the families that had settled there. There was a tall stockade fence with two parapets, one on the northeast corner and one opposite on the southeast corner. Inside was a large blockhouse built with thick timbers. This was used for protection from the Indians. On August 25, 1696, a party of hostile Indians went into the home of the Johnson family and brutally murdered the three children. Soon after this, the settlement was abandoned.

South Wall Looking East

I was surprised at how big the fort was. I was expecting a smaller area. I haven't been able to ascertain if the stones that outline the fort are original. I don't think so. 

Stockade Cellar Hole

Although the area was covered with a few inches of snow, I could locate the well and the cellarhole of the main stockade.

Well

I will return in the spring to see what else might be found at this location. There is something about walking on the ground where you know 339 years ago people lived and unfortunately lived in fear.

The Boston Turnpike Part 2

 I returned to the Boston Turnpike to explore the eastern section. I was unable to cross Bigelow Brook to continue my first trip but I was able to access it from the other side, sort of.

There is a trail called "The Boston Turnpike Greenway" that is accessible from Rte 198 in Eastford. There is a pull off at the junction of 198 and 244. The trail begins in the woods next to the driveway. The driveway is actually a piece of the old road. The trail is marked with white blazes. The trail splits very close to the beginning. I missed the split and the trail took me on a loop to the west end of the turnpike. I should have taken a right and this takes you directly to the roadbed in about 100 feet. The loop section is very interesting in its own right.

A plaque explaining the history of the Boston Turnpike is posted on the trail. Had I hiked this section first, my last post would have been correct. 

As you can see this is the same wall that we saw on the other side of the brook. As I mentioned, one of the identifying features of these old turnpikes is the parallel walls along the road. Another consistent feature is the width of the road. 30 to 50 feet wide. 

This picture is what remains of a culvert. I don't think there was a major bridge here, probably a large, flat stone or just some thick wooden planks. 

The above marker depicts the number of miles to Hartford. These were placed every mile along the route and were used to calculate the tolls. I don't know if this is original. This is the only one I have seen but I have come across markers along old Boston Post Road and they are not as "nice". 

This is the remains of another culvert. This one is topped with several large, flat, stones. 

This picture is of a dead tree. Can you imagine what this tree has seen?

This section of the turnpike is about a mile long from end to end. You cannot follow it all the way to Bigelow Brook. That end is posted. I would have liked to have seen if there were any remains of a bridge on that end. 

One thing of interest to me is I never come across old ruins along these turnpikes. Well almost never. I did come across an old cistern along a section of Turnpike in Dudley.

I don't know why this is. The turnpikes mostly followed old roads that were already established between farms. These could have been built between farms and at the back of the properties. The area was not heavily populated when these roads were built. When the roads came to a town this is where the building would have been. 

Looking at the Boston Turnpike on satellite images you can see most of the towns it traveled through are now pretty built up. There does not appear to be any original buildings from when the turnpike was operational.  

If you are interested in old roads, this is a good example of one in it's original condition.

The Boston Turpike aka Middle Turnpike

Revised - because I am not afraid to admit my mistakes.

My latest exploration took me to the Natchaug Trail in Eastford, CT. I like this area because there is so much hidden history there. Today, I came across a small piece of local transportation history: the Old Boston Turnpike on the map, which was initially named the Center Turnpike. 

View of Turnpike looking west

Building commenced around 1830  1797 and the tolls were discontinued in 1856  1879. The plan was to add yet another  a toll road from Boston to Hartford. The Connecticut section began in Douglas MA going through Thompson,  Pomfort, Eastford, Ashford, Westford, Tolland, Bolton Notch, Manchester, and into Hartford. There really wasn’t much need for another route but it was built anyway. This was the original route into Hartford.

View of Turnpike looking east

Many of these old turnpikes are still in use, but not many are in their original shape. Most have been reconstructed to handle modern traffic. The Boston Turnpike still has a lot of original construction. Even the sections that have been rebuilt are still easily found, and you can see the “Turnpike” in them. 

North side wall

Construction of the turnpikes followed a similar pattern, except in Massachusetts where the law was they needed to be in as straight a line as possible no matter what was in the way. This would cause problems when a section was to go up a steep hill. If you are familiar with Stafford Street in Worcester, it is called “Deadhorse Hill” because the hill was so steep that many horses died on the way up. The roads were lined with stone walls which had two purposes. They would keep livestock from leaving the road and entering people's yards. The other purpose was to prevent people from using the road without paying the tolls. Whenever I see a break in the wall I wonder if this was one of the spots. The roads were also consistent in their widths. 

A view to the east side bridge abutment

This section of the Boston Turnpike has parallel walls and remnants of drainage ditches used to carry water from the road. You can also see the convex shape of the road, the middle being higher than the sides. This was also for drainage. 

The west side bridge abutment

This section crossed Bigelow Brook on a wooden bridge. There are still remains of the abutments here. I was unable to cross the stream but it appears the road is passable on the other side. I will return to this area and approach it differently.

Close-up of the east abutment

If you would like to see this old road it is off Route 44 in Eastford CT. A small blue sign that reads “Natchaug Trail” is on the north side of the road. Follow this trail about a half mile and you will come to the old turnpike. You can’t miss it as it is very obvious. 

The roadbed leading to the bridge

As a note of explanation regarding the mistake, I have a bad habit of not always researching as well as I should before writing. Next, I will write about the section on the other side of Bigelow Brook.

Visiting an Old Friend

 Last week I took a ride to visit an old friend. I went to a conservation area that was one of the first I ever visited. This was one of the two that sparked my interest in Native American stone structures. There are many interesting structures here and I wanted to plot them on a map, take some measurements, and take some pictures. 

It's funny how when you haven't been someplace in a while some of it remains the same, other parts seem different. I was unable to locate some of the structures I saw on my first few visits but I also found some new ones, or some I don't remember seeing. Let me share some of the pictures I took. 

This niche is in a stone row that runs in a north/south direction. It is 200 feet long, varies in height, and has no connecting walls. Both ends are rather plain with nothing resembling an effigy. This niche is open all the way through the wall. There are several niches along the row. There are no connecting walls or rows to this one. 

This is a picture of the stone row from the north end looking south. As you can see this area is extremely rocky and does not appear to have ever been improved. The wall is not high enough to impede livestock from stepping over it. 

This picture is at the north end of the wall. Just about the halfway mark of the wall, there is an interesting, well I don't know what to call it. 

This picture was taken on my first visit several years ago. It has changed since then. Some of the items are no longer there (the pink flamingo and the small houses)  although they could be under the leaves.

I don't know what the purpose of this is. Some of the items appear to be newer and some seem as if they have been there for some time. There is a house about 100 yards to the east of this but it doesn't seem people have come from there to this spot. Is this some kind of Native American offering? I believe there are still sites still being used by Native Americans today, could this be one?

This picture shows what the area to the west of this stone row looks like. I will be heading back there soon to document the possible structures I have found there. There are split stones with small rocks placed in the splits. There were several triangular standing stones (one pictured above). There is a stone "C" shaped circle and niches. The first few times I came to this area, this section was very wet with a small stream (probably from the spring snowmelt) going through it.

Along the west side of this boulder field is another stone row that I will write more about in a future post. There are some interesting things in that stone row as well, including a piece of quartz placed in an open break in the wall.

I need to go back and do some more exploring. While this is the best time to find things in the woods, it is also the coldest. My plan is to map the area and then see if I can get some of my fellow NEARA members to come take a look and give me their take. 

Who knows, maybe I have found a not-so-ancient Native American Stone Landscape?