2.70 Crossing the Great Wall of Westford and Mt. Hope Valley – Ashford/Westford, CT
Follow the Old Connecticut Path across the Great Wall of Westford and the Mount Hope Valley to Westford Hill. Experience walking on an enormous causeway constructed during the earliest years of colonial travel. Follow the footsteps of pioneers traveling along the Old Connecticut Path by using the stepping stones placed in the Mount Hope River to cross the river. Climb through the woods and across the meadows traversed by the Old Connecticut Path to reach the height of the land at Westford Hill. The route of the Old Connecticut Path leads back in time to offer glimpses of the deep wilderness through which the earliest travelers passed including: John Oldham, the first Englishman to travel the path; Reverend John Wareham, founder & first minister at Windsor, CT; and, Thomas Hooker, founder & first minister of Hartford, CT.
Select picture or link to view the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLGQIy-UylY
The Old Connecticut Path is one of the earliest trails followed as part of America’s westward migration. As early as 1635-36, the migration from Massachusetts Bay at Boston/Cambridge west to Connecticut began following the Old Connecticut Path. Reverend Thomas Hooker and his entire congregation walked along the Old Connecticut Path for two weeks across the wilderness in 1636 from Cambridge, MA to establish Hartford, CT. Join me for a walk and use your imagination to experience the landscape traveled by the pioneers of the 1600s.
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
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LINKS
Ashford, CT - Babcock Library
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