Collis P. Huntington State Park

Collis P. Huntington State Park
Connecticut State Park
Country  United States
State  Connecticut
County Fairfield
Towns Bethel, Newtown, Redding
Elevation 791 ft (241 m) [1]
Coordinates 41°21′00″N 73°21′18″W / 41.35000°N 73.35500°W / 41.35000; -73.35500Coordinates: 41°21′00″N 73°21′18″W / 41.35000°N 73.35500°W / 41.35000; -73.35500
Area 883 acres (357 ha) [2]
Opened 1973 [3]
Management Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Location in Connecticut
Website: Huntington State Park
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Collis P. Huntington State Park.
The Luttgen mansion that burned down before the Huntington's bought the property

Collis P. Huntington State Park is a state-owned, public recreation area in the towns of Redding, Newtown, and Bethel in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The state park is noted for its sculptures of bears and wolves by Anna Hyatt Huntington. The park bears the name of railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington, whose heirs donated the lands to the state, and was opened to the public following Mrs. Huntington death in 1973.[3]

History

Under the late 19th-century ownership of Commodore Walther Luttgen, a New York banker, industrialist and yachtsman, park-like features were added to the landscape including service roads, trails, and artificial ponds.[4] One of Luttgen's improvements, a miniature stone lighthouse, may still be seen. The remains of a small steam paddlewheeler that once plied the ponds have not been found.[3]

Following Luttgen's death in 1922, Joseph E. Sterrett, a principal with the accounting firm of Price, Waterhouse, acquired the estate, including its mansion, Villa Linta.[5] After the villa burned down, the land was purchased by Archer M. Huntington, the philanthropist stepson of industrialist Collis Potter Huntington.

Archer Huntington and his wife Anna Hyatt Huntington moved to the estate, changing its name to Stanerigg, in 1939.[6] Here Mrs. Huntington worked creating works of realistic sculpture while Mr. Huntington pursued his interests as a poet, Spanish scholar, and patron of the arts. In addition to the bears and wolves that welcome visitors at the entrance of the park, Anna Hyatt Huntington's heroic sculpture of General Israel Putnam can be found at Putnam Memorial State Park in Redding. Her work can also be found at Atalaya Castle—the couple's winter quarters—and Brookgreen Gardens, which are both part of the Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens national historic landmark in South Carolina.

Activities and amenities

The park has trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. Trails include the northern section of the Aspetuck Valley Trail, which connects with the adjacent Centennial Watershed State Forest. Park ponds are available for canoeing and fishing. Archery-only deer hunting is offered from mid-September through December.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Huntington State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. ↑ Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee (January 23, 2014). "State Parks and Forests: Funding" (PDF). Staff Findings and Recommendations. Connecticut General Assembly. p. A-2. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Collis P. Huntington State Park". Connecticut DEEP. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  4. ↑ "About Walther Luttgen". History of Redding. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  5. ↑ "The History of Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut". History of Redding. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ Jules Heller; Nancy G. Heller (19 December 2013). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Routledge. pp. 268–. ISBN 978-1-135-63882-5.

External links

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