Humaston Brook State Park
41°42′10″N 73°06′25″W / 41.70278°N 73.10694°W / 41.70278; -73.10694[1]
Humaston Brook State Park is an under-developed day use state park located in the village of Northfield, Connecticut. It preserves a stretch of Humaston Brook, a tributary of the Naugatuck River. Its major feature is Northfield Pond, created by damming in the 19th century. It is commonly known by residents as Knife Shop Pond. It also includes the foundations of the former Northfield Knife Company located along the banks of the brook below the dam, which was the location of one of Litchfield's largest 19th-century employers.[2] Activities in the park include hiking and fishing.[3]
Setting and features
Humaston Brook State Park is located in southern Litchfield, just east of the cluster of buildings making up the village of Northfield at the junction of Knife Shop Road and Connecticut Route 254. The park's lands extend north from Knife Shop Road nearly to Richards Road Extension, and south from Knife Shop Road to include a gorge on Humaston Brook. Knife Shop Road crosses Humaston Brook on a bridge just south of the dam at the southern end of Northfield Pond, and there is a parking area extending a short way on Newton Road on the east side of the pond just north of Knife Shop Road. A third parcel of parkland is located east of Newton Road, between Hopkins and Knife Shop Roads.
A hiking trail provides access to the cascades and factory ruins south of Knife Shop Road.[4]
History
Humaston Brook was dammed in 1854 to provide water power to a carriage manufacturer.[4] J. Howard Catlin purchased the factory and its water rights in 1858 with his brother Franklin as a site for their knife company. The company became one of the nation's leading manufacturers of knives, its wares displayed at various world fairs between 1876 and 1901. The Catlins sold the company in 1919.[5] The state acquired the property in 1926.[4] A one-acre site encompassing the knife factory remains was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.[6]
Preservation of the site as a state park began with the acquisition of a seven-acre tract in 1920, the purchase being made with the assistance of the White Memorial Foundation and Northfield resident Henry Peck.[7]
References
- ^ a b "Humaston Brook State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "Northfield Knife Company". Hidden in Plain Sight. April 11, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ^ "Humaston Brook State Park". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
- ^ a b c Dunn, Russell (2013). Connecticut Waterfalls. Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press. pp. 67–69. ISBN 978-1-58157-742-6.
- ^ Ransom, David (1992). "J. Howard Catlin House". National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. Retrieved January 26, 2017. and accompanying photos
- ^ "Northfield Knife Company Site". NP Gallery Digital Asset Management System. National Park Service. April 8, 1997. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ^ Report of the State Park Commission to the Governor 1920 (Report). Hartford, Conn.: State of Connecticut. December 29, 1920. p. 19. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
External links
- Humaston Brook State Park Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- v
- t
- e
- Above All
- Air Line
- Beaver Brook
- Becket Hill State Park Reserve
- Beckley Furnace Industrial Monument
- Bennett's Pond
- Bigelow Hollow
- Black Rock
- Bluff Point
- Bolton Notch
- Brainard Homestead
- Burr Pond
- Camp Columbia
- Campbell Falls
- Chatfield Hollow
- Collis P. Huntington
- Connecticut Valley Railroad
- Dart Island State Park
- Day Pond
- Dennis Hill
- Devil's Hopyard
- Dinosaur
- Eagle Landing
- Farm River
- Farmington Canal
- Fort Griswold Battlefield
- Fort Trumbull
- Gardner Lake
- Gay City
- George Dudley Seymour
- George Waldo
- Gillette Castle
- Haddam Island
- Haddam Meadows
- Haley Farm
- Hammonasset Beach
- Harkness Memorial
- Haystack Mountain
- Higganum Reservoir
- Hop River State Park Trail
- Hopemead
- Hopeville Pond
- Horse Guard
- Housatonic Meadows
- Humaston Brook
- Hurd
- Indian Well
- John A. Minetto
- Kent Falls
- Kettletown
- Killingly Pond
- Lake Waramaug
- Lamentation Mountain
- Larkin State Park Trail
- Lovers Leap
- Macedonia Brook
- Machimoodus
- Mansfield Hollow
- Mashamoquet Brook
- Mianus River
- Millers Pond
- Minnie Island
- Mohawk Mountain
- Mono Pond
- Moosup Valley State Park Trail
- Mooween
- Mount Bushnell
- Mount Riga
- Mount Tom
- Old Furnace
- Osbornedale
- Penwood
- Platt Hill
- Pomeroy
- Putnam Memorial
- Quaddick
- Quinebaug Lake
- Quinnipiac River
- River Highlands
- Rocky Glen
- Rocky Neck
- Ross Pond
- Salt Rock State Campground
- Satan's Kingdom State Recreation Area
- Scantic River
- Selden Neck
- Seth Low Pierrepont
- Sherwood Island
- Silver Sands
- Sleeping Giant
- Southford Falls
- Squantz Pond
- Stillwater Pond
- Stoddard Hill
- Stratton Brook
- Sunnybrook
- Sunrise
- Talcott Mountain
- Tri-Mountain
- Trout Brook Valley
- Wadsworth Falls
- West Rock Ridge
- Wharton Brook
- Whittemore Glen
- Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail
- Windsor Meadows
- Wooster Mountain
- Algonquin
- American Legion
- Centennial Watershed
- Cockaponset
- Enders
- James L. Goodwin
- Housatonic
- Massacoe
- Mattatuck
- Meshomasic
- Mohawk
- Mohegan
- Nassahegon
- Natchaug
- Nathan Hale
- Naugatuck
- Nehantic
- Nepaug
- Nipmuck
- Nye-Holman
- Pachaug
- Paugnut
- Paugussett
- People's
- Pootatuck
- Quaddick
- Salmon River
- Shenipsit
- Topsmead
- Tunxis
- Wyantenock
- Aldo Leopold WMA
- Assekonk WMA
- Babcock Pond WMA
- Barber Pond WMA
- Barn Island WMA
- Bartlett Brook WMA
- Bear Hill WMA
- Belding WMA
- Bishops Swamp WMA
- Black Pond WMA
- Candlewood Hill WMA
- Cedar Swamp WMA
- Charles E. Wheeler WMA
- Cromwell Meadows WMA
- Durham Meadows WMA
- East River Marsh WMA
- East Swamp WMA
- Eightmile River WMA
- Franklin Swamp WMA
- Goshen WMA
- Great Harbor WMA
- Higganum Meadows WMA
- Housatonic River WMA
- King's Island Coop WMA
- Kollar WMA
- Larson Lot WMA
- Little River Fish and Wildlife Area
- Lord's Cove WMA
- Maromas Coop WMA
- Meadow Brook WMA
- Menunketesuck WMA
- Messerschmidt WMA
- Newgate WMA
- Nod Brook WMA
- Nott Island WMA
- Pease Brook WMA
- Plum Bank WMA
- Quinebaug River WMA
- Quinnipiac River Marsh WMA
- Ragged Rock WMA
- Raymond Brook Marsh WMA
- Robbins Swamp WMA
- Roger Tory Peterson Wildlife Area
- Roraback WMA
- Rose Hill WMA
- Ross Marsh WMA
- Salmon River Cove and Haddam Neck WMA
- Sessions Woods WMA
- Simsbury WMA
- Skiff Mountain Coop WMA
- James V. Spignesi WMA
- Stanley Works WMA
- Suffield WMA
- Talbot WMA
- Tankerhoosen WMA
- Wangunk Meadows WMA
- Wopowog WMA
- Zemko Pond WMA
- Aspetuck Reservoir
- Barkhamsted Reservoir
- Beaver Dam Lake
- Candlewood Lake
- Easton Reservoir
- Far Mill Reservoir
- Hemlock Reservoir
- Hop Brook Lake
- Lake Lillinonah
- Mansfield Hollow Lake
- Means Brook
- Saugatuck Reservoir
- Trap Falls Reservoir
- West Hartford Reservoir
- West Pequonnock Reservoir
- Lake Zoar
- Aspetuck Land Trust
- Aton Forest
- Audubon Center at Bent of the River
- Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens
- Bear Mountain
- Beckley Bog
- Branford Land Trust
- Case Mountain
- Cathedral Pines
- Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Fairfield
- Connecticut College Arboretum
- Devil's Den Preserve
- Earthplace
- Great Mountain Forest
- Higby Mountain
- Highstead Arboretum
- Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust
- McLean Game Refuge
- New Canaan Nature Center
- Peter's Rock
- Pine Mountain Reserve
- Saltonstall Mountain
- Stamford Museum & Nature Center
- Steep Rock Association
- Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust
- White Memorial Foundation
- Woodcock Nature Center
- Yale-Myers Forest
- American Legion State Forest Trails
- Aspetuck Valley Trail
- Blue-Blazed Trails
- Chatfield Trail
- Hancock Brook Trail
- Housatonic Range Trail
- Lillinonah Trail
- Mattabesett Trail
- Menunkatuck Trail
- Metacomet Trail
- Narragansett Trail
- Natchaug Trail
- Naugatuck Trail
- Nehantic Trail
- Nipmuck Trail
- Paugussett Trail
- Pequot Trail
- Quinnipiac Trail
- Regicides Trail
- Salmon River Trail
- Shenipsit Trail
- Tunxis Trail
- Westwoods Trails
- Whitestone Cliffs Trail
- Zoar Trail
Forest/Parks
- Bear Mountain Reservation
- Beardsley Park
- Burr Farm Protected Open Space
- East Rock Park
- Gurski Farm Protected Open Space
- Happy Landings Protected Open Space
- Lighthouse Point Park
- Lillinonah Woods
- Mill River Park
- Old Bridge Sanctuary
- Pleasure Beach
- Roosevelt Forest
- Salt Meadow Park
- Seaside Park
- Webb Mountain Discovery Zone
- Webb Mountain Park