Connecticut Park Centennial

Senator Toni Boucher, Governor Dannel Malloy and the group, Friends of Sherwood Island State Park commemorate the park Centennial with area lawmakers on April 1, 2013 in Westport at Sherwood Island State Park.

Westport – Hartford, CT – Connecticut is celebrating our state park Centennial. Sen. Toni Boucher (R-Wilton) joined area lawmakers and Governor Dannel Malloy along with Department of Energy and the Environment (DEEP) Commissioner Dan Esty at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport to kick off the centennial celebration.

“This year we pay tribute to the environmental vision of Connecticut’s early leaders. Our state has an expansive system of 107 state parks and 32 state forests. Sherwood Island State Park was the first of its kind in Connecticut,” said Sen. Boucher. “I also hope you will join me in adopting a state park.”

Adopting your Park does not require legislation and comes along with a fairly straightforward commitment to do the following:

• Acknowledge the State Park in your District;
• Visit the State Park to understand its assets and needs;
• Work with existing “Friends of Park” organization (the Friends of Sherwood Island) to launch an annual event (walk, clean-up, etc.) in 2013
• Help advocate for the needs of the State Park system.

The CT DEEP advertises Sherwood Island State Park covers just over 235 acres in the Greens Farms section of Westport. It is bounded on the west by the Mill Pond and on the east by New Creek. Centuries ago, another creek (Gallup’s Gap Creek) ran roughly down the middle, with an island to its west (Fox Island) and marshland to its east.

In the 1600s, a group of farmers settled on land east of the present park. They shared the surrounding salt marsh and farmed what was then called Fox Island. At the same time Thomas Sherwood, a miller from Nottingham England, arrived in nearby Fairfield with his family.

In 1787, Sherwood descendants settled on Fox Island and acquired an existing gristmill on the Mill Pond. Through the 1800s, on what came to be called Sherwood’s Island, the Sherwood’s grew abundant crops. Onions and potatoes in particular were sent by ship to New York in great quantity. The gristmill serviced local farmers until grain farming in the area declined.

In 1914, after surveying the coastline, the Connecticut State Park Commission determined that the Sherwood’s Island area was the only location in Fairfield County suitable for a shore park. By then, the land had many owners. For help in making acquisitions, the Commission turned to William H. Burr Jr., a Westport produce farmer, former state legislator and an activist for historical preservation.

Because the first property purchase was made in 1914, Sherwood Island is said to be Connecticut’s oldest state park; but many years passed before it was accessible to the public. By 1923, with William Burr acting as intermediary, the State had acquired 48 acres of land on the marsh. However, neighboring landowner objections held up further funding to buy uplands for parking and park facilities. Through continuing advocacy by Burr and several regional associations, funding for the key parcels was approved, but not until 1937. These purchases were instrumental in creating momentum that lead to additional acquisitions and recreational improvements.

Learn more about the park’s past by visiting the Friends of Sherwood Island history pages.