Wadsworth Falls State Park, or simply Wadsworth Falls, is a public recreation and preserved natural area located on the

Coginchaug River The Coginchaug River in Connecticut, with a watershed including 39 sq mi of forests, pastures, farmland, industrial, and commercial areas, is the main tributary of the Mattabesset River. It is 16.1 mi long, and the river flows northwards fro ...

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 ...

of Middletown and Middlefield,

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 capita ...

. The state park's offer trail hiking and fishing. Swimming and picnicking are allowed at the pond near the north entrance near 721 Wadsworth Street (CT Route 157) in Middletown. It 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. It ...

History

The park bears the name of Colonel Clarence S. Wadsworth (1871–1941), an academic, linguist, conservationist, and member of the New York National Guard. Wadsworth developed the property that the park occupies in the early years of the 20th century as part of his Long Hill estate. He established the Rockfall Corporation as a charitable foundation to administer his properties and further his conservationist interests. Following his death, the corporation gave of Wadsworth's estate to the people of Connecticut for preservation as Wadsworth Falls State Park. In 1996, the portion of the park that lies within the town of Middletown, some 130 acres, 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 ...

as part of the Wadsworth Estate Historic District. The district's central feature, the

Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill The Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate is located at 421 Wadsworth Street in Middletown, Connecticut. It is a classical revival house situated on wooded area. It is currently owned by the City of Middletown and is operated by the Long Hill ...

, lies adjacent to the park and may be reached from the park by way of the purple-blazed hiking trail.

Waterfalls

Two natural waterfalls lie within easy reach by park trails: the Big Falls, on the

, and the Little Falls, on Wadsworth Brook. The larger of the two, Wadsworth Big Falls, drops the 52-foot breadth of the Coginchaug River some over a shelf of Hampden

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

. Wadsworth Little Falls is found along Wadsworth Brook and descends approximately over an outcrop of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

known as Portland arkose.

Activities and amenities

In addition to scenery and heavily forest lands, the park features stream fishing, and trails for hiking and mountain biking.

References

External links

Wadsworth Falls State Park
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Wadsworth Falls State Park Map
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection {{authority control State parks of Connecticut Parks in Middlesex County, Connecticut Protected areas established in 1942 Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Middlefield, Connecticut Middletown, Connecticut Waterfalls of Connecticut Landforms of Middlesex County, Connecticut 1942 establishments in Connecticut