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Israel Putnam Wolf Den is a historic site off Wolf Den Road in
A version of the legend, documented in a 1788 biography by David Humphreys, holds that Putnam and others tracked a wolf to the cave after it had killed seventy sheep on Putnam's farm. Putnam entered the cave by torch light, shot the wolf, and was pulled from the cave by a rope tied to his ankles, dragging the wolf behind him. The story has possibly been embellished over the years, but the main themes of the story, the cave and wolf, are believed to be factual by most Putnam biographers.Putnam, Daniel. ''The Life of Gen. Israel Putnam,'' pp. 7-10, Mack & Andrus, Ithaca, New York, 1834. The exploit was part of the early career of Putnam, who went on to become an officer in
Mashamoquet Brook State Park
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Mashamoquet Brook State Park Map
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection {{authority control National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Connecticut Pomfret, Connecticut Protected areas established in 1899 State parks of Connecticut Parks in Windham County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places
Pomfret
Pomfrets are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae. The family currently includes 20 species across seven genera. Several species are important food sources for humans, especially ''Brama brama'' in South Asia. The earlier form of t ...
, Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. At this location in 1742, Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...
shot and killed Connecticut's last known wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1985.
Legend
A version of the legend, documented in a 1788 biography by David Humphreys, holds that Putnam and others tracked a wolf to the cave after it had killed seventy sheep on Putnam's farm. Putnam entered the cave by torch light, shot the wolf, and was pulled from the cave by a rope tied to his ankles, dragging the wolf behind him. The story has possibly been embellished over the years, but the main themes of the story, the cave and wolf, are believed to be factual by most Putnam biographers.Putnam, Daniel. ''The Life of Gen. Israel Putnam,'' pp. 7-10, Mack & Andrus, Ithaca, New York, 1834. The exploit was part of the early career of Putnam, who went on to become an officer in French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, a leading Connecticut figure in the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
and a folk hero for many generations.
Cave
The cave, a natural fissure in an outcropping of greygneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
ledge, runs for about 20 feet back into the rock. At one time it may have opened into a small chamber, but leaves, debris, and fill have erased any evidence of this. The cave looks much as it did in the late 18th century when the tale of Putnam and the wolf was codified.
Today, the Wolf Den is accessible from a hiking trail off of Wolf Den drive in Mashamoquet Brook State Park, a + Connecticut state park, with two campgrounds, hiking, fishing, swimming, and picnicking.
See also
*National Register of Historic Places listings in Windham County, Connecticut
__NOTOC__
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Windham County, Connecticut.
This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, ...
References
External links
Mashamoquet Brook State Park
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Mashamoquet Brook State Park Map
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection {{authority control National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Connecticut Pomfret, Connecticut Protected areas established in 1899 State parks of Connecticut Parks in Windham County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places