Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Around Middletown in 80 Days: Day 37

deKoven House and the Rockfall Foundation
27 Washington Street

Today "little Phileas" went to the deKoven House. This community building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The deKoven House as built by West Indies trader Captain Benjamin Williams between 1791 and 1797, when Middletown was Connecticut's leading shipping port.

The home was later given to Colonel Clarenence Wadsworth (the same Colonel Wadsworth who built the fine mansion on the Long Hill Estate and purchased the land that is now Wadsworth Falls State Park) by his in-laws. Colonel Wadsworth bequeathed the house to the Rockfall Foundation in 1941.

The deKoven house is now the home of the Rockfall Foundation, and many other ecologic and conservation focused organizations, including the connecticut River Coastal Conservation District, the Connecticut office of the Connecticut River Watershed Council, and The Girl Scouts of America. Ginny Rollefson took Phileas on a tour of the historic building and its many tenants. Phileas certainly learned a lot about the conservation efforts in and around Middletown, as well as some other excellent locations to visit.

The 23rd Annual Rockfall Symposium is coming up as well:
Green Light for Our Economy
Jobs, Energy & Education for a Sustainable Future
Friday October 9, 2009 8:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Middlesex Community College

Visit www.rockfallfoundation.org for more information.

Jane Brawerman, Executive Director, explains to Phileas the dangers of invasive plants in our own backyard.
Ginny Rollefson, Executive Director, introduces Phileas to the Great White Oak which once stood at the corner of Wadsworth St. and Forest St. in Middletown.

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