1999 WETHERSFIELD TRAIL (11K - YR517)

Connecticut Valley Volkssport Club, AVA-784

DIRECTIONS

COMMENTARY

  1. DRIVING from Ramada Inn, turn right on Silas Deanne Highway, and proceed 2 miles. Take a left at the 7th light onto Church Street, at the Ton Hall and Library. Take an immediate left into the Town Hall parking lot, park, and proceed from here on foot.
 Restrooms are located on the lower level of the Town Hall.
  1. Walk back to Church St. and turn left up the hill. Then take the first left onto Church Place.
  
  1. At end, turn right on Fairmont St. Then take your first left on Darwell dr., left on Cottwell Dr., and right on Hurlburt Rd., walking along the playing fields and by the school. At the end of Hurlburt, go right on Belcher Rd. up the hill.
  
  1. At the end of Belcher, turn right on Wolcott Hill Road.
 The large homes on this street are mostly colonial revival with a sprinkling of antique colonials and Victorians.
  1. Take the fifth left onto Fairview, at the end of Fairview go right on Barstow, then first right onto Robbins and follow it to the end of Wolcott Hill road.
  
  1. At Wolcott Hill road, cross carefully and then take a quick right onto Hillcrest Ave. Take Hillcrest down the hill to the Silas Deanne Highway.
  
  1. Left on Silas Deanne for one block, then right, using the walk light and cross the highway and proceed down Nott St.
  
  1. At the fork with the Stone monument, bear left, then cross Hartford Avenue and follow it left for a few yards. Near the stop sign and the fence line, turn right onto the grass of cove Park, behind the Solomon Welles House. Head straight for the Cove, and watch for a crushed stone path on the hillside just before the water. [Wheel chair? Stroller? High water?;. Then turn right on Hartford Ave. and a quick left on State St. past Motor Vehicle Dept., then left on Main St. Follow Main to the end at Cove Park. Rejoin Trail with step 10.]
 From the 1820’s until the 1960’s Cove Park was the site of the State Prison. All that remains today is a rectangular area near the fence of the yacht club, which is the prison cemetery, marked by a single small slush stone in the center, 1820-1963. The Solomon Wells House to your right predates the prison and was the warden’s home.
  1. Follow the stone path along the shore of the Cove, bearing left at a fork in the path. Cross Hanmer St. and continue to follow the shore- keep the old weathered Cove Warehouse on your right. Past the warehouse turn right along the paving until you reach the Cove Park sign and Main St.
 Until about 1700, the Cove was the main channel of the Connecticut River, and Cove Park was a port with shipyards and warehouses. The one remaining warehouse dates from the late 1600’s. Then in a flood, the course of the river shifted eastward, and today the Cove connects with it through a small channel.
  1. Turn right on Main St., and then your second left on River Road. Walk around the small green back to Main St. and go left on Main. CHECKPOINT #1: CALEB GRISWOLD HOUSE, 490 Main St., built 1734. Record on your Start Card the name of the vegetable painted on the small white sign above the name of the house. This is a symbol of the town and was a major export crop shipped to the West Indies in the 1700’s. Continue until you reach the flagpole and red brick church in the center of town.
 #521 Main St., first house on the right, was built in 1690. Most of the older homes on Main St. were build by wealthy merchants and sea captains. #481 Main St., a brown house on the right, may be the oldest structure in town, a part of the house is believed to date from 1637. #263 Main St., Comstock, Ferre & Co., is the country’s oldest seed business was established in 1820.
  1. Turn left on Marsh St., passing cemetery and brick church on left.
 The Ancient Burying Ground has many old stones from the 17th and 18th centuries, up on the small hill. The First Church of Christ is the third or fourth to stand on this site; the current brick sanctuary was built in 1761.
    Right on Broad St. The Buttolph Williams House will be on right, 249 Broad St.
 Buttolph Williams house, ca. 1720, is open to the public; inquire at Webb/Deanne Stevens Museum.
  1. Bear left going clockwise around the green on Broad St., passing Morris Farms on left. At the far end of the green, at the stop sign and lamppost with the granite monument to Nathaniel Foote, turn right and continue clockwise along the other side of the green.
 Morris Farms has been worked by the Morris Family since 1663. Note iron plaques marking homesites of the original settlers in 1634, the "Adventurers." The historical marker at the end of the green notes the homesite of Nathaniel Foote, one of Wethersfield’s original settlers.
  1. At Garden St. turn left. At Main St., cross and continue on Garden. At Center St., turn right and proceed to Main St.
 At #22, the largest cucumber magnolia tree in the state.
  1. Turn left on Main St., at the Old Academy, and pass the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Dept. on the left, the Keeney Cultural Center on the right which is featured on the 1999 award (rest rooms and water available during museum hours), the Webb/Deanne/stevens Museum on the Left, the Hurlbut-Dunham Museum on the right, and Village Pizza on the left. CHECKPOINT #2: WETHERSFIELD VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT. Not the white sign on the front of the building and record on your Start Card the date the fire department was chartered. Then take a left on Church St.
 The Old Academy Museum (1804) is the Wethersfield Historical Society library. The Keeney Cultural Center, open Tues.-Sat. 10-4, Sun. 1-4, has changing exhibits and houses the Wethersfield Historical Society shop.

Webb/Deanne/Stevens Museum consists of three 18th century houses. One of the houses belonged to Silas Deanne, who was a member of the First Continental Congress and went to Paris in 1776 to negotiate with the French Government for supplies for the army. General Washington stayed at the Joseph Webb house when he met with Rochambeau in 1781.
  1. Follow Church St. back to the Silas Deanne Highway, and cross the Highway back to the start point at the Town Hall.
 We hope you enjoyed your visit to Old Wethersfield! If you have any comments, please pass them on to us co/o Carol and Lee West, 366 Main St., Wethersfield, CT 06109 (860) 721-1185

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Last Updated: 04/23/1999
© Copyright 1999 Bob McDougall