Wharton Brook State Park

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Wharton Brook State Park
Allen Brook Pond in Wharton Brook SP at dusk.jpg
Allen Brook Pond in Wharton Brook SP at dusk
Relief map USA Connecticut.png
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Location in Connecticut
Location North Haven and Wallingford, Connecticut, United States
Coordinates 41°25′32″N72°50′12″W / 41.42556°N 72.83667°W / 41.42556; -72.83667 Coordinates: 41°25′32″N72°50′12″W / 41.42556°N 72.83667°W / 41.42556; -72.83667 [1]
Area96 acres (39 ha) [2]
Elevation39 ft (12 m) [1]
Designation Connecticut state park
Established1919
Administrator Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Website Wharton Brook State Park

Wharton Brook State Park is a public recreation area located off U.S. Route 5 in the towns of North Haven and Wallingford, Connecticut. [3] Activities in the 96-acre (39 ha) state park center on Allen Brook Pond, a 5-acre (2.0 ha) pond that empties into Wharton Brook. [4] The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

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.

North Haven, Connecticut Town in Connecticut, United States

North Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut on the outskirts of New Haven, Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 24,093.

Wallingford, Connecticut Town in Connecticut, United States

Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 45,135 at the 2010 census. The urban center of the town is the Wallingford Center census-designated place, with a population of 18,209 at the 2010 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in England.

Contents

History

The state park was established as a precursor of the modern highway rest stop, with picnic grounds, a camping area, and services for automobiles. It opened on August 1, 1919, as the first of what the State Park Commission intended to be a series of "Wayside Parks" created in the more heavily traveled areas of the state. [5]

State park protected area managed at the federated state level

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 beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential. There are state parks under the administration of the government of each U.S. state, some of the Mexican states, and in Brazil. The term is also used in the Australian state of Victoria. The equivalent term used in Canada, Argentina, South Africa and Belgium, is provincial park. Similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but the terminology varies.

Highway A public road or other public way on land

A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks: It is not an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or a translation for autobahn, autoroute, etc.

On May 15, 2018, an EF1 tornado that transitioned into a microburst caused significant damage to the park, forcing officials to close the park for an unspecified period of time. The park has reopened on January 14th, 2019. [3]

Activities and amenities

The park offers fishing, swimming, picnicking, and several short footpaths totaling less than a mile in distance. [6] The park is one of the state's designated trout parks that are stocked with trout on opening day and at other times of the year. [7] Great blue herons and other wildlife may be found in the park.

Great blue heron species of bird

The great blue heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to coastal Spain, the Azores, and areas of far southern Europe. An all-white population found only in south Florida and the Florida Keys is known as the great white heron. Debate exists about whether it is a white color morph of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Wharton Brook 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-4. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Wharton Brook State Park". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. July 28, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  4. "Allen Brook Pond" (PDF). Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. September 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  5. Report of the State Park and Forest Commission to the Governor 1920 (Report). Hartford, Conn.: State of Connecticut. December 28, 1920. p. 27. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  6. "Wharton Brook State Park" (PDF). South Central Regional Council of Governments. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  7. "Trout Parks". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved July 12, 2016.