Gay City State Park is a public recreation area on the

Blackledge River The Blackledge River is a tributary of the Salmon River which courses U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 through eastern Connecticut in the United States. R ...

in the

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

and

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

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 ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

occupies bordering

Meshomasic State Forest The Meshomasic State Forest is located in East Hampton, Portland, and Marlborough, Connecticut, with smaller sections located in Glastonbury and Hebron. It is popular for mountain biking, hiking, and hunting. The Rangers Headquarters were located ...

and is accessible from State Route 85. In addition to its deep forest, millpond, and marshland, the park bears trace remnants (foundations, stone walls, and ditches) of the

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...

that occupied the site for most of the 19th century. The park is managed by the

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is a state agency in the US state of Connecticut. The department oversees the state's natural resources and environment and regulates public utilities and energy policy. I ...

History

The isolated hollow on the Blackledge River was first settled by religious leader Elijah Andrus and his followers in 1796. A succession of ill-fated mills marked the town's history—the first built around 1800 and the last burning down in 1879. Village history has also been burdened with tales of community tensions caused by the free use of alcohol during twice weekly religious services and of grisly murders gone unpunished. Following construction of a sawmill and wool mill, the village became known as Factory Hollow and grew to about 25 families, many of whom bore the surname Gay. The wool mill's commercial success ended with the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

; the mill burned down in 1830. A paper mill revived the village's fortunes but it too fell victim to fire, leading to the village's ultimate demise. The property was sold to the state by one of the town's last descendants in 1943, at which time the name Gay City was bestowed on the site. A year later the land became a state park, then entered the official roles as Connecticut's 54th state park, with 680 acres, in 1946.

Activities and amenities

Gay City Connecticut State Park Split Rock Formation

The park offers pond fishing and swimming, picnicking, and a youth campground. The park's trail system, which is used for hiking and cycling, includes a five-mile trail that tours the entire park. Trails also connect Gay City to Blackledge Falls in

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

and through the surrounding

to Birch Mountain Road in Glastonbury where the Case Mountain trail system can be accessed.

References

External links

Gay City State Park
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Gay City State Park Map
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection {{authority control State parks of Connecticut Hebron, Connecticut Parks in Tolland County, Connecticut Ghost towns in Connecticut Protected areas established in 1944 Former populated places in Tolland County, Connecticut 1944 establishments in Connecticut