2021-10-13, Swibold Property, Canton, CT

 On 2021-10-13, I visited the Swibold Property in Canton, CT, a property of Canton Land Conservation Trust.  Here's a link to an interactive map I made of the property, with location numbers that I will refer to: https://arcg.is/0uTrXS0 .

Here's a static screenshot from the interactive map.



1.  Where I parked, in a gravel off-road lot that could hold maybe four cars.  


2.  I went downhill on a yellow-blazed trail to this bridge over a tributary to Cherry Brook.



2.  The view upstream from the bridge.



2.  The underside of the bridge.  I was impressed by how complex the construction was.



3.  Fungus on a dead American beech tree.  I think the fungus was something in the Hericium genus, maybe Hericium americanum.  A common name is Bear's Head Tooth.



3.  The fungus from below.





4.  This appeared to be the ruins of an old dam.  A now-dry 900-foot-long millrace appeared to lead from the dam downstream to a point where the water in the millrace could drop about 19 feet through a mill wheel to re-join Cherry Brook.



5.  More fungus on another dead American beech, I think.  My guess, assisted by iNaturalist.org: Summer Oyster Mushroom, (Pleurotus pulmonarius).



6.  A pool in Cherry Brook.



7.   Rocks on the side of Cherry Brook.



8.  A view of Cherry Brook from a high point.



9.  The confluence of the tributary and Cherry Brook.


I had some correspondence with Stephen "Phil" Philbrick of Canton Land Conservation Trust about the Swibold Property.  Here's an excerpt:

Yes, the Swibold property has the remnants of an old dam.

I will copy below the write up Gretchen Swibold completed for our newsletter:

The Swibold Trail is beautiful: it has two bubbling brooks, topography uphill and down, remnants of a dam on Cherry Brook, rock outcroppings, trees, mountain laurel, mushrooms and moss.  It's a very pleasant walk any time of year, for people of any age.  Just this year the Land Trust built a parking area there and laid out a trail that takes you on a wonderful circuit of the property at 727 Cherry Brook Road.  

The property is lovely, but it's also historically interesting because it was once part of Ambrose Case's farm.  Ambrose (1805-1883) was the great grandson of Richard Case, the area's first white settler.  He was said to be an industrious and enterprising farmer who acquired considerable property and built his house at 745 Cherry Brook Road in 1829.    There was a grist mill on his property and (maybe after his time) an apple orchard.  An 1870 Agricultural Report states that he had 1 horse, 3 milking cows, 4 working oxen, 1 swine, 25 bushels of Indian corn, 10 bushels of oats, and 400 lbs of tobacco.  Nine families have lived at 745 since Ambrose's day including Betty and James Augur who sold 18 acres to Dick and me in 1971 and Elizabeth and Matt Vinick who live there now.

If you haven't yet, take a hike at 727 Cherry Brook Road!

Many thanks to Kathleen Taylor, Canton Town Historian, and David Leff, Deputy Town Historian, for sharing their historical research on Canton.

Gretchen Swibold  













David Reik

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2022-6-30, Compounce Ridge Trail, Bristol, Southington, CT

Image
 On 2022-6-30, I hiked a section of the Tunxis Compounce Ridge Trail, starting at the northern end of the trail.  Except for the road section, I hiked the entire section to the intersection with the Compounce Cascade Trail.  This section of the trail appeared to have been neglected for a few years. I made an interactive map with location numbers showing where the pictures below were taken.  Here's a link to the interactive map:  https://arcg.is/9maXb  .  Here's a static screenshot of the interactive map. 1.  I parked in a commuter parking lot.  This is looking back at the parking lot along the trail through a stand of mugwort. Near 1.  I found a lot of poison ivy at various places along the trail I hiked. Near 1.  I crawled under this blow-down.  2.  A blow-down. 3.  A blow-down. 4.  Overgrown. Near 4.  A blow-down. 5.  Multi-flora rose growing in the trail. Near 5.  A very overgrown section. Near ...
Read more

2022-6-5, Metacomet Trail, East Granby, CT.

Image
On 2022-6-5, I hiked a section of the Metacomet Trail in East Granby, from CT-189 to Holcomb Street. I made an interactive map of my route --- my GPS track is shown in pink.  I put in location numbers to show where the pictures below were taken.  Here is a screenshot of the southern part of the map. Here's a screenshot of the northern part of the map. Here's a link to the interactive map, where you can zoom in and out, and turn on and off various layers. https://arcg.is/1aDPiq 4.  The view of Tariffville Gorge. 6.  I don't think there was ever a structure connected with this chimney. 8.  A large Striped Maple leaf. 9.  Carolina Rose (Rosa carolina), I think.  A wild native rose. 11.  Evidence of some recent mowing of plants in the sunlit power cut. 12.  The first blow-down I came to.  This was about 100 feet south of the cemetery. 12.  The cemetery.  As I recall, the three grave stones are reproductions of the original grave st...
Read more

2021-11-18, Oak Ledges Preserve, Portland, CT

Image
 On 2021-11-18, I visited Oak Ledges Preserve in Portland, CT.  On 2021-11-19, I went back to the area and visited Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary, also in Portland, CT, and a small part of Meshomasic State Forest.  I made an interactive map with location numbers.  Here's a link to the interactive map:  https://arcg.is/b0OHb  .  I'll put in a static screenshot of the interactive map. 1.  I parked in a small pull-off (maybe three cars could fit).  A map created by the Middlesex Land Trust was displayed. 1.  The preserve is owned by the Middlesex Land Trust. 2.  Rocks along the trail which had orange blazes. 3.  I followed the orange trail to the northwest corner of the preserve.  The Middlesex Land Trust map labels this rock a glacial erratic. 3.  I managed to get to the top of the rock. 4.  I explored an interior, unblazed trail.  I think this is one of the three species in the genus Dendrolycopodium found ...
Read more