FRIENDS OF TOPSMEAD STATE FOREST

Friends of Topsmead State Forest

Discover a hidden treasure in the Litchfield hills of Connecticut

Your donations will help preserve Topsmead's past for the future by:

Expanding/maintaining the butterfly and cottage gardens
Monitoring and maintaining of the songbird nesting boxes
Building a boardwalk over the wetlands on the Ecology Trail
Cleaning and restoring furniture in the Chase Cottage
Hiring a restoration specialist to repair the large painting over the mantle in the Cottage living room
Adding benches to the Welcome Center and trails

If you enjoy our newsletter and Topsmead, please consider becoming a member or making a donation. We rely on these funds for our projects and programs.

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Rear view of Chase Cottage. Drawing by Schell Lewis 1924

In 1917, Edith Morton Chase received a gift from her father, 16 acres of pristine woods in the Litchfield hills. Today, Topsmead is a 510 acre state forest, gifted from Ms. Chase in 1972 to the citizens of Connecticut to enjoy and preserve. Her legacy includes diverse landscapes, including bike and nature trails, formal gardens, unique bird habitats, and a meticulously crafted English Tudor style cottage well appointed with her international collection of art and antiques. ...more

Our Mission

Friends of Topsmead State Forest (FTSF) is a volunteer non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose purpose is to work with the State of Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) to provide programs and activities to promote, preserve, protect, and maintain the history, heritage and environmental integrity of Topsmead, thereby supporting the wishes of Edith Morton Chase as put forth in her will.

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Topsmead Events

&Activities

REMEMBERING TOPSMEAD

Conversations with Bob Orintas

buildings AT TOPSMEAD

part one

As Topsmead evolved over the years, the buildings were an integral part of its operation. Today several remain while many are now gone. Some were built to meet specific needs; others were acquired along with property purchased. This month is the second of three reflections on this topic. I’ll describe most of Topsmead’s structures so you can get a better sense of what the estate was like during the time Miss Edith lived there.

TOPSMEAD FARM
In August of 1928, Miss Edith purchased the Buell farm, (about 46 acres) from George Buell. At that time I believe there were the horse barn and the cow barn, plus two houses, the farmhouse (which stands today across from the current parking lot) and the cottage, (relocated across Buell Road) across the driveway from it. I don’t know if there were any other buildings there at that time. Miss Edith began refurbishing the cow and horse barn immediately. The farmhouse became the home for the manager of Topsmead Farm. Extensive improvements were made in 1935 when the dairy was added to the south side of the house and an enclosed porch to the west side. The cottage across the driveway became the home of gardener, Decimo Simoncelli and his wife Marion until the early 1940’s. It was then rented to the Abrahamson family from November 1942 until about April 1951. After that, it became the maid’s cottage as there was no longer enough room for them in the front section of the farmhouse.
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by Margaret Hunt | photos by Margaret Hunt

Let's Not Rough It
November 2023

In Miss Edith’s day, Topsmead cottage was closed up by election Tuesday in the first week of November. Miss Edith would have departed Topsmead and returned to Waterbury with Lucy and Mary Burrall in time to do her civic duty and vote. With Topsmead cottage closed for the winter season and Miss Edith and the Burrall sisters settled in Waterbury for the winter, Miss Edith would regularly send her chauffeur up to the Locker in Litchfield with a list of items to bring back to the house in Waterbury. Often on the list were the results of canning Topsmead’s summer and fall produce as well as frozen meats from the farm animals and, on occasion, butter from the milk of the Topsmead cows.

Topsmead cottage may have been closed by November, but it was designed for central heating with a furnace in the basement and elegant metal heating duct plates throughout the cottage that looked like the criss-crossed dough lattice on the top of an apple pie. In addition to central heating, architect Charles Henry Dana had insisted that there be a fireplace in every room. This was not only a heating backup, but also a luxury and a nod to Miss Edith’s value of all things hand-built and rustic!
-read complete Musings essay-

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