Stoddard Hill State Park

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Stoddard Hill State Park
Connecticut state park
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut
County New London
Town Ledyard
Elevation 148 ft (45 m) [1]
Coordinates 41°27′40″N72°03′52″W / 41.46111°N 72.06444°W / 41.46111; -72.06444 Coordinates: 41°27′40″N72°03′52″W / 41.46111°N 72.06444°W / 41.46111; -72.06444   [1]
Highest point Stoddard Hill
 - elevation 183 ft (56 m)
Lowest point Thames Estuary
 - elevation 0 ft (0 m)
Area 55 acres (22 ha) [2]
Established 1954
Management Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Relief map USA Connecticut.png
Red pog.svg
Location in Connecticut
Website: Stoddard Hill State Park

Stoddard Hill State Park is a public recreation area located on the eastern shore of the Thames River, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Norwich, in the town of Ledyard, Connecticut. The state park covers 55 acres and offers facilities for boating, fishing, and hiking. It is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. [3]

Thames River (Connecticut) river in Connecticut, United States

The Thames River is a short river and tidal estuary in the state of Connecticut. It flows south for 15 miles (24 km) through eastern Connecticut from the junction of the Yantic River and Shetucket River at Norwich, Connecticut, to New London and Groton, Connecticut which flank its mouth at Long Island Sound. The Thames River watershed includes a number of smaller basins and the 80-mile-long Quinebaug River, which rises in southern Massachusetts and joins the Shetucket River about four miles northeast of Norwich.

Norwich, Connecticut City in Connecticut, United States

Norwich, known as 'The Rose of New England,' is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 40,493 at the 2010 United States Census. Three rivers, the Yantic, the Shetucket, and the Quinebaug, flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long Island Sound.

New England town Basic unit of local government in each of the six New England federated states of the United States

The New England town, generally referred to simply as a town in New England, is the basic unit of local government and local division of state authority in each of the six New England states and without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states. New England towns overlay the entire area of a state, similar to civil townships in other states where they exist, but they are fully functioning municipal corporations, possessing powers similar to cities in other states. New Jersey's system of equally powerful townships, boroughs, towns, and cities is the system which is most similar to that of New England. New England towns are often governed by a town meeting legislative body. The great majority of municipal corporations in New England are based on the town model; statutory forms based on the concept of a compact populated place are uncommon, though they are prevalent elsewhere in the U.S. County government in New England states is typically weak at best, and in some states nonexistent. Connecticut, for example, has no county governments, nor does Rhode Island. Both of those states retain counties only as geographic subdivisions with no governmental authority, while Massachusetts has abolished eight of fourteen county governments so far. With few exceptions, counties serve mostly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems.

Contents

History

The park was donated to the state in 1954. [4] It is one of several Connecticut state parks that were acquired with funds bequeathed by George Dudley Seymour for the purpose of purchasing recreational areas for public use. [5]

George Dudley Seymour was an American historian, patent attorney, antiquarian, author, and city planner. He was born and raised in Bristol, Connecticut, and practiced patent law in Washington, D.C., and then in New Haven, Connecticut. Seymour was a law graduate of Columbian College in Washington, D.C. [now George Washington University], and received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Yale University in 1913. He was a member of the Acorn Club, the Walpole Society, the Century Association, and the Cosmos Club. Seymour was a former vice president of the American Federation of Arts, a trustee of the Wadsworth Atheneum, and chairman of the State Commission of Sculpture. He was a close friend of William Howard Taft and John Singer Sargent, and a cousin of Yale President Charles Seymour.

Activities and amenities

The park includes a five-acre tidal estuary with ramp for car-top boating. [6] A trail leads to the top of a 183-foot (56 m) hill that was used by Native Americans as a lookout. [3]

Native Americans in the United States Indigenous peoples of the United States (except Hawaii)

Native Americans, also known as American Indians, Indigenous Americans and other terms, are the indigenous peoples of the United States, except Hawaii. There are over 500 federally recognized tribes within the US, about half of which are associated with Indian reservations. The term "American Indian" excludes Native Hawaiians and some Alaska Natives, while Native Americans are American Indians, plus Alaska Natives of all ethnicities. Native Hawaiians are not counted as Native Americans by the US Census, instead being included in the Census grouping of "Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander".

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References

  1. 1 2 "Stoddard Hill State Park". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
  2. "Appendix A: List of State Parks and Forests" (PDF). State Parks and Forests: Funding. Staff Findings and Recommendations. Connecticut General Assembly. January 23, 2014. p. A-3. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Stoddard Hill State Park". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  4. "State acquires 60 acres for park at Gardner Lake". The Day. New London, Conn. January 19, 1955. p. 22. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  5. "George Dudley Seymour State Park". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  6. "Stoddard Hill Boat Launch". Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. June 5, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.