History

The park bears the name of Colonel Clarence C. 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.^[5] He established the Rockfall Corporation as a charitable foundation to administer his properties and further his conservationist interests.^[6] Following his death, the corporation gave {{convert|267|acre}} 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 as part of the Wadsworth Estate Historic District.^[8] The district's central feature, the Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill, lies adjacent to the park and may be reached from the park by way of the purple-blazed hiking trail.^[5]

Waterfalls

Two natural waterfalls lie within easy reach by park trails: the Big Falls,^[10] on the Coginchaug River, and the Little Falls,^[11] on Wadsworth Brook. The larger of the two, Wadsworth Big Falls, drops the 52-foot breadth of the Coginchaug River some {{convert|30|ft}} over a shelf of Hampden basalt.^[12] Wadsworth Little Falls is found along Wadsworth Brook and descends approximately {{convert|40|ft}} over an outcrop of sandstone known as Portland arkose.^[12]

Activities and amenities

In addition to scenery and heavily forest lands, the park features picnicking facilities, stream fishing, and trails for hiking and mountain biking. Swimming is offered in a lifeguard-supervised pond with sandy beach, soil cement paving, and water pumped from water wells located near the Coginchaug River.

References