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FRIENDS OF TOPSMEAD STATE FOREST
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  • Events
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    • Remembering Topsmead
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    • Topsmead State Forest Map
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Friends of Topsmead State Forest

Discover a hidden treasure in the Litchfield hills of Connecticut
​

Quick Links

> Projects/Volunteer Opportunities
> Visitor Information & Trail Maps 
​(State Forest and Ecology Maps)
> Memorial Tree Program

​> Project Wish List
> CT Dept of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP)
​> Covid-19 Guidelines for State Forests
​
> Frequently Asked Questions
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
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Rear view of Chase Cottage. Drawing by Schell Lewis 1924

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.
Become a Friend of Topsmead
Your donations to Friends of Topsmead will help preserve Topsmead's past for the future by:
  • Expanding and 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 on certain trails
donate to the preservation of Topsmead
Topsmead Parking Lot Project
DEEP is currently expanding and improving the parking area.   DEEP appreciates everyone's patience with these disruptions. We will provide updates about the project's progress on the FTSF website and Facebook page as best we can, as we receive them. If you have specific questions, we encourage you to contact the FTSF President directly at 203-584-0826 or email 
​
 friendsoftopsmead@gmail.com.

Ecology Trail Update

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 The first section of a bog walk at the old pond on the Ecology Trail is complete!  Come check out the trail and stretch your legs at Topsmead! Many thanks to Topsmead Friends Jani Golding, Janet and John Blauveldt, and Renee Betar for their help. >> learn more
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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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Robert Orintas

REMEMBERING TOPSMEAD:

Conversations with Bob Orintas

Summertime at Topsmead

Harvesting Hay
Harvesting Hay at Topsmead
Summer was when I spent the most time at Topsmead. In early July everyone pitched in to help with the first cutting of hay. The first cutting is the best, most nutritious hay of the year. Hay was actually the primary crop for Topsmead Farm – even more so than apples. Miss Chase grew hay for her own use at Topsmead, and she rented out several fields for other farmers to grow hay on too. Hay was stored loose in the top of the barn until we got a baler in the early 1950s.
 > read more

Topsmead Events & Activities

Musing from Top o' the Meadow
by Margaret Hunt


SAVOR SUMMER | August 2022 

Topsmead is the perfect place to escape the heat of August and savor summer, but do it while you can.  Fall is lurking. 
 
Stroll around Miss Edith’s cottage.  Yes, the pots of flowers artfully placed on the tops of the cottage’s stonewalls and at the kitchen steps are blooming merrily, but look closely and you will sense that they are reaching their peak.  Yes, flowers in the gardens are soaking up the sunshine, but look carefully and you will notice poodle skirts of fallen petals spread on the ground beneath the phlox.  
 
Then, follow the gravel drive out to the classic New England stonewalls bordering the fields.  If you look closely along the tops of those walls, you may see a red leaf or two glistening gemlike and adorning the grey surfaces of the stones.  Those red leaves are the first vibrato notes of the clarion call of fall.
 -read complete Musings essay-
 ​
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Early summer panorama of the meadow at Topsmead by Tom Holzel

Ways to Support Topsmead

Donate

Provide or Sponsor an Item on our
Project Wish List!

Plants, mulch, benches, cleaning supplies, etc.
​ see entire list here
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Click HERE to set "Friends of Topsmead State Forest" as your default AmazonSmile charity and Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchases to Topsmead.
  • Home
  • Donate
    • Friends of Topsmead General Fund
    • Memorial Tree Fund
  • Events
  • Projects/Volunteer
  • History
    • Remembering Topsmead
  • Membership
  • Contact
  • Musings
  • Visitor Info
    • Topsmead State Forest Map
  • FAQ