2.67 Natchaug Forest Crossing– Ashford, Connecticut
Follow the Old Connecticut Path along the route described by Charles and David Chism in the "Great Trail of New England" by Harral Ayres. The recollections of the Chism brothers tell the story of places along the path passed down through oral history of their family. This video follows the route of the Old Connecticut Path across the Natchaug State Forest from Eastford Road, over the Boston Hollow Brook and up Grass Hill to the Old Connecticut Path monument on RT 89 in Westford, CT. To view the video, click on the picture or the link http://youtu.be/WyZJe_BzxVIThe route of the Old Connecticut Path leads back in time to offer glimpses of the deep wilderness through which the earliest travelers including Thomas Hooker and John Warham crossed with their congregations in 1635-1636. Natchaug State Forest offers a place of remote beauty than is accessible along the Natchaug and Nipmuck hiking trails. Come along to walk on a footpath that has been in used for more than 400 years of travel and has an important place in colonial history.
NATCHAUG STATE FOREST
The Natchaug State Forest in Ashford, CT is a place of remote beauty that is accessible for hikers today. The area where the Old Connecticut Path crosses the is a deep wilderness crossing streams, beaver dams, ancient stone walls and bridges, and a rustic foot bridge. The modern Nipmuc Trail running downhill from Eastford Road to the base of Grass Hill follows the route of the Old Connecticut Path making this portion of the trail a route that was laid by the Native People and used by the earliest travelers on their migration from the Massachusetts Bay to the Connecticut valley. It is rare to find a place such as this used by travelers for over 400 years.
David Chism mapped the route of the Old Connecticut Path and his brother, Charles, described the route in The Great Trail of New England by Harral Ayres. The visit to the Natchaug Forest retraced the route mapped and describe by the Chism brothers from their homestead on Axe factory Road across the valley to Grass Hill.
Click on the link below to see an excerpt from Harral Ayres The Great Trail.
To see the map drawn by David Chism, click on the link Chism Map
The routes of the Old Connecticut Path along with the Nipmuck and Natchaug paths in the Natchaug State Forest is displayed below.
The route followed in the video started on Eastford Road near the Chism homestead at the intersection with Axe factory Road ("A" on the map. The other access route from Eastford Road starts at "B" and follows the Nipmuck Trail). The cart road down hill me the Natchaug Trail to head west deeper into the forest. The box culvert across North Chism Brook and the beaver meadow are reached before ascending to the intersection with the Nipmuck Trail.The Nipmuck Trail towards Eastford Road to the top of the hill and downhill across the East Branch of the Mount Hope River/Boston Hollow Brook matches the route of the Old Connecticut Path as mapped by David Chsim and described by Charles Chism. Note that the old cart road connecting from the Nipmuck Trail to Eastford Road is not passable across posted private property.The route from the Nipmuck Trail across Grass Hill to the Old Connecticut Path marker on RT 89 is not a marked trail. The dashed line traces the route followed using traces of the old cart path and following the contours of Grass Hill. Note that there is no direct route from the meadow at the south end of Grass Hill to RT 89 due to placement of homes along the highway.
The Old Connecticut Path monument is located on the east side of RT 89 on a hill above the roadway approximately 1.0 mile south of the intersection of RT 89 and Boston Hollow Road. From the intersection of RT 44 and RT 89, the monument is approximately 3.1 mile north on RT 89 (Approximately 0.3 miles north of Iron Mine Lane). Trail Information
For more information on the Nipmuck Trail, visit ctxguide.com at the following link Nipmuck Trail in Natchaug State Forest.
The "Iron Mine Preserve" owned by Joshua's Trust provides additional access on woodland trails located off of Iron Mine Lane ("C" on the map above). For more information on the Iron Mine Preserve, visit the Joshua's Trust website. The following link will direct you to a description of the Iron Mine Preserve along with a trail map. Iron Mine Preserve
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