FRIENDS OF TOPSMEAD STATE FOREST

Friends of Topsmead State Forest

Discover a hidden treasure in the Litchfield hills of Connecticut

Quick Links

Covid-19 Guidelines for State Forests
Topsmead Visitor Information and Trail Map
CT Dept of Energy & Environmental Protection

Volunteer Opportunities: Gardens, Bird Tours, Educational Programming, and more!
Tree Renewal Fund
Memorial Tree Program
Ecology Trail Map (download pdf file)

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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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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This documentary film chronicles the history of Topsmead, the summer estate of Edith Morton Chase, through archival photographs and beautiful film footage. The 20 minute film also features interviews with Topsmead historian Jerry Geci, and with Robert Orintas, the son of Miss Edith's chauffeur, who for several decades spent his summers there.

Topsmead in the Fall

Free Guided Tours of Chase Cottage will resume in June 2022

Guided tours of Edith Chase's Cottage operate from June through October. We look forward to seeing you early next summer for a tour!

An Autumn Walk at Topsmead
Photo by Tom Holzel

by Margaret Hunt

Sheets protect the Cottage furnishings until next season | Photo by Margaret Hunt

Rooftop view from Chase Cottage | Photo by Margaret Hunt

Closing Up the Cottage...November 2021

According to Topsmead historian Jerry Geci, Miss Edith came up from Waterbury to her Topsmead cottage in the spring and always returned to Waterbury by Election Day, the first Tuesday in November, in order to “do her civic duty.” Once Miss Edith had departed, the staff closed up the cottage for the oncoming winter season.

After the ending of summer/fall house tours and in keeping with Miss Edith’s calendar, November 2021 is once again the time to close up Miss Edith’s cottage. Jenny Riggs, leader of the Friends of Topsmead State Forest docent team, organized a closing-up crew of docents and other FTSF members. I was excited to join the crew. DEEP’s Cindy McPhee and the amazing Jani Golding, now retired from DEEP after several decades of caring for the cottage, ably supported the effort.

Jenny sent us a list of directives and items. First of all, no outdoor shoes. (I brought my L.L. Bean Wicked Good slippers.) Next, wear white cotton gloves to handle books, furniture, and metal. (Reminded me of my days as a youngster at ballroom dancing school when the boys as well as the girls wore white gloves). The list of necessary items included: small pails (2 or 3), lots of clean cotton rags and microfiber dust cloths, several vacuum cleaners with dust nozzles, extension cords with two prongs (old receptacles in the cottage), leather cleaner/conditioner for leather chairs, Never-Dull brass cleaner, extra step stools with non-scratching feet, long-handled dusters, and blue painters tape for marking anything needing attention.
-read complete Musings essay-

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