Friday, May 12, 2017

A scavenger hunt in Plymouth thru May 15!

The Plymouth Library is inviting families to go on a town wide historic quest of Plymouth through May 15, 2017.  Here is how it works... Families can spend time together exploring Plymouth, Terryville and Pequabuck!



Visit at least 5 of the 20 stops, take a selfie at each and email or post it to our Facebook event page. Download a copy of a PDF and check off where you have been. Once you have completed the scavenger hunt you can bring this PDF in, with check marks next to where you went, and receive both a prize and a ticket to enter to win a family-oriented basket. If you visit all 20 places you can get an additional entry into the drawing! You have until Monday, May 15, 2017 to turn the PDF in to the Library located on 238 Main Street in Terryville to receive an incentive prize and a ticket for the drawing. You will be entering to win a basket full of family-oriented fun items!



Some of the stops include the following:
A Time in History Mural: Located on the wall in the lower parking lot of the Terryville Public Library. This mural was made possible by The Main Street Community Foundation, Art in Motion, Plymouth Beautification Committee and kind volunteers. Come inside the library to grab a separate “I Spy” just about the mural itself.

Tory Den: Located about one mile down the Tunxis Trail. The Tunxis Trail can be accessed about 1/2 mile north of St. Matthew’s Cemetery on East Plymouth Road. Tory’s Den is a cave that was a hideout for the “Tories” or those loyal to England during the Revolutionary War.

Plymouth Library: Located at 692 Main St Plymouth. The Plymouth Library hours are Monday, Wednesday & Friday 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Wednesday evenings 6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Lock Museum of America: Located at 230 Main St Terryville, the Lock Museum of America is open seasonally from May 1st through October 31st. Tuesday through Friday 1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., or weekends by appointment. Call Thomas Hennessy Jr. to schedule a visit - 860-480-4408. Admission is $3 (if you cannot pay the admission fee this can be counted as completed just by taking a selfie outside of the museum). The Museum houses an extensive lock collection that includes a Cannon Ball Safe, 30 early era time locks, Safe Escutcheon Plates, a large number of British Safe Locks, Door Locks, Padlocks, Handcuffs and Keys, and more. The museum is directly across from the original site of the Eagle Lock Company, founded in 1854.

Plymouth Reservoir Recreation Area: The recreation center located on North Street in Plymouth includes the Festa Forest Trails (map available at the Terryville Public Library). The Festa Forest Trails feature caves, stone walls, a natural swing and some beautiful views of fall foliage and the North Street reservoir.

Terryville High School Nature Trail: Located behind the Terryville High School, this blazed nature trail loops around a pond.

Hancock Brook Lake: Hancock Brook Lake is a flood control area managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. Located in the southern part of Plymouth, it totals 721 acres, including a 40-acre reservoir that is ideal for kayaking, canoeing, and fishing. Herons and beavers can often be seen here. Access to the reservoir is from the south end of the property at the dam off of Greystone Road.

Walking Tour of Plymouth Center: Take a stroll in the village of Plymouth Center, listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The self-guided walk features the Burying Ground (with gravestones of 38 soldiers from the Revolutionary War), a house where George Washington stayed on his way to meet the Comte de Rochambeau, the Greek Revival Congregational Church built in 1838, a house that was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and the Plymouth Land Trust’s new Carriage Shop Trail. A map of the “Walking Tour” as well as information about many of the places listed in this pamphlet can be found by going to http://www.plymouthct.us/, then clicking on Community and Interesting Places.

Toll House: The Plymouth Historical Society is located at 572 Main Street. It has two buildings, the Toll House Museum and the Alley House Museum. The maroon painted toll house was built in the early 1800s and was the home of the tollkeeper on the Hartford - Litchfield Turnpike. Inside the toll house is the completely restored 1852 Woodruff and Beach steam engine. It powered the Shelton and Tuttle carriage shop on Main Street in the mid-1800s. This is the only engine of its kind in the United States.

Alley House: The Alley House museum, a white Greek Revival house built by Augustus Shelton in the mid-1800s, contains a collection of Plymouth memorabilia, including items from the Civil War.

Plymouth Land Trust: The Plymouth Land Trust, Inc. is a local, non-profit organization formed to permanently protect land in Plymouth, Connecticut for its natural, recreational, scientific, scenic, historical, or agricultural value. The Land Trust is not a town agency. It depends on volunteers who want to make a difference and care about conserving land for future generations. There are a few locations open to the public for recreational uses. There are trails on North St, Armbruster Rd and Washington Rd. The website www.plymouthlandtrust.org has many more details.

Blue Trails in Plymouth: There are over 10 miles of hiking trails in Plymouth that are part of the statewide Blue Trail system maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association (www.ctwoodlands.orghttp://www.ctwoodlands.org). The trails include the Mattatuck Trail, the Whitestone Cliffs Trail, and the Tunxis Trail. The Mattatuck Trail runs through the southern portion of Town for 7.7 miles. This trail can be accessed at Marino Pond off of Wolcott Road, from Town Hill Road, at the end of Todd Hollow Road, and on Carter Road.

Buttermilk Falls: Buttermilk Falls is a lovely series of cascades off of Lane Hill Road. They are easily accessible by following the blue-marked Mattatuck Trail from a pulloff on the side of the road. During the winter, Lane Hill Road is closed, but the trail is only 500 feet from where the road is closed, so the falls can be enjoyed year round.

Water Wheel: Located at 264 Main St. The water wheel is the oldest water wheel in the United States with original parts. The wheel was built in the 1830s.

Lake Winfield: Parking available off of Holt Street or Seymour Road. Lake Winfield is one of Plymouth's most popular recreational facilities. It has a 9-acre pond for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking, encircled by a 0.8 mile walking path. There is also a playscape, picnic gazebo, horseshoe pit, bocce court, and tennis courts.

Plymouth Skate Park: Located behind the Plymouth Town Hall at 80 Main St Terryville, CT. Skaters and bikers now have a place to go to have fun while in a safe environment.

Disc Golf: Located on the Terryville High School grounds is a 9 hole disc golf course. What is Disc golf? Visit pdga.com (Professional Disc Golf Association) to learn more. The first hole of the course is located to the left of the track at the start of the soccer field.

Baldwin Park: Baldwin Park is on Main Street in downtown Terryville, across from the Lyceum. It is the site of the summer concert series sponsored by the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce. There are many interesting trees in the Park, including a Copper Beech planted in 1995 for Plymouth's Bicentennial, a rare Kentucky coffee tree, and a pin oak that was grown from an acorn from the Constitution Oak on the Plymouth Green. There are also a few historical markers on location (or nearby) including the Veteran’s Memorial, and Dorence Atwater Monument.

Horseshoe Falls: The best place to view the falls is from the bridge on Canal St (Ted Knight Bridge). In 1851, Eli Terry built a dam on the Pequabuck River to supply water power for a new factory, the Terryville Manufacturing Company. Water from the pond was diverted down a canal to turn a water wheel that generated 35 horsepower at full speed. In 1864, the factory became the Eagle Bit and Buckle Company, manufacturers of harness bits and buckles for the Union Army during the Civil War. Eventually, locks for mailbag pouches were made here. Later, a sawmill occupied the site, and by 1908, it was a woodturning plant.

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