2022-2-12, Old Mine Park and Parlor Rock Park, Trumbull, CT

On 2022-2-12, I visited Old Mine Park and Parlor Rock Park in Trumbull, CT.

I made an interactive map with location numbers. Here's a link to the interactive map: https://arcg.is/0er4iX0 .

Here's a static screenshot from the interactive map.

1. Where I parked, in the turnaround at the southern end of Corporate Drive.

4. This hole in the ground is called "The Cut." Here's a quote from https://www.trumbull-ct.gov/DocumentCenter/View/724/Old-Mine-Park-Map-PDF:

“The Cut”- is a large hole located in the park that is roughly 100 feet long, 10 feet wide and 60 feet deep! It sits today as the remaining cavity of what was a large vein of quartz. Today you will find a safety fence surrounding the area. But long before a Bridgeport man fell into the hole and was stuck there for more than 24 hours before rescue efforts were initiated. Animals did not fair so lucky and often animal carcasses could be seen on the bottom.

This is a view from the southeast end of The Cut.

4. A view from the northwest end of The Cut.

10. An informational kiosk at Location 12 on my interactive map labels this the "main quarry and mine area."

10. Another view of the "main quarry and mine area."

9. The informational quarry says this was a "dynamite storage tunnel." I could hear water running in the tunnel. I didn't crawl around the fence to explore the tunnel.

8. A cellar hole. Here's a quote from http://vizettes.com/pequonnockvalley/oldmine/index.htm .

Off the main trail loop to the east, one can find a small circular dam and foundation ruins. This spot was once known as Little Eden.

"The stone and mortar pool is fed by a spring that emanates from under a large tree that the pool is built against. The pool provided water to the home of Hollister Sage which was located at the nearby house foundation ruins. Hollister called his home Little Eden and he ran the nearby lime kiln for his living". - John Lauria, Trumbull Historian

I think these are the "nearby house foundation ruins" mentioned above.

8. Another view of the cellar hole.

7. This I think is the "stone and mortar pool" mentioned in the quote from John Lauria.

Near 22. The informational kiosk says that these are the ruins of a lime kiln, presumably the lime kiln that Hollister Sage ran.

12. The informational kiosk. I have this photo also in Google Photos. In Google Photos, it's possible to magnify this photo and read the text. Here's the link to the Google Photos version of the photo: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ry1F6i94KxDz1GrF8 . The kiosk was next to a big, paved parking lot that was not filled when I visited on a sunny Saturday. I didn't see any signs saying that you had to be a Trumbull resident to park there.

13. I walked along the paved bike path under Route 25 and then off onto paths that took me to the banks of the Pequonnock River. There was a low dam here, and evidence of a former higher dam.

13. Here, you can see evidence of the former higher dam on both sides of the river. Maybe this was the dam that formed "Lake High-High" that was part of Parlor Rock amusement area. Here's a quote from http://pequonnockrivertrail.org/destinations-parks.html .

The area is the site of an historic amusement park built by the Housatonic Railroad as a way of promoting the rail line. Located north of present-day Whitney Avenue, Parlor Rock Park was named for the large rock outcroppings in the area. Accessible only by train, the park first provided only a picnic area, but was expanded to include a dance hall, roller skating rink, gazebos, a carousel, croquet grounds, a man-made lake for boating, and a toboggan slide. It was the first area in Trumbull to use electricity, generated by an on-site grist mill. Parlor Rock operated from 1878 to 1908.

14. About 75 feet downstream from the dam, there were high rock outcroppings above the river. Maybe these outcroppings were the "Parlor Rock" referred to in the name of the amusement area.

14.

14. Looking upstream.

14. A view of the rock outcroppings from river level looking upstream.

Near 14. My Kahtoola Microspikes traction devices were useful on 2022-2-12.

About 75 downstream from 14.

17. A sign near where the bike path crosses Whitney Avenue.

16. I ventured off of the bike trail. This appeared to be the foundation of a house that was standing as recently as 1930 or so, judging by the presence of mortar and concrete.

Along the trail about 130 feet westerly of 16. This appeared to be the well for the house at 16. Note the pipe which suggests that the well was used into the 20th century. But what kept the water in the pipe from freezing?

15. How old are these stone steps? They led towards the river from the old railroad bed.

11. I am back in Old Mine Park on an impressive pedestrian bridge. There is another bridge 480 feet downstream where there is a dam.

5. Inspired by the information I saw on the informational kiosk, I went back to the area I had walked through before I came to the informational kiosk. This was in what the informational kiosk called a "lime quarry." Is this limestone?

5. The number displayed in front of the lime quarry should have been 5 (not 8) according to the informational kiosk.

5. The number in front of the lime kiln should have been 6, not 9.

6. There were two pits, one next to a trail, and the other 37 feet to the east. The informational kiosk says that one or both of these pits was a "topaz pit."