Connecticut’s Hidden Gems Part 2
Ayer’s Gap and Bailey’s Ravine
It comes as no surprise that the majority of Connecticut’s hiking trails and state parks come with a deep well of fascinating history and backstories known near exclusively to locals. Bailey’s Ravine in Franklin, CT is no different. The Ravine, part of the larger network of hiking trails and nature preserve known as Ayer’s Gap, exists just off Route 32 and stretches far back into Franklin’s dense woods. The trails themselves encompass about 2 miles, including rocky cliffs, brilliant greenery, and crystalline waterfalls. According to Explore Connecticut, the land was purchased by the Nature Conservancy from a woman from Suffield, CT by the name of Felice Marnicki in the year 1988. Thereafter, it was officially recognized as a nature preserve by the state. As Explore Connecticut goes on to explain, the park is also dedicated to two other individuals: Helena E. Bailey-Spencer, wife of Lieutenant Governor Samuel R. Spencer, for whom Marnicki had worked, as well as John Ayer Trapper, first settler of the town of Franklin.
Just as interesting as the original conditions of the park’s founding are its natural features. The park is home to a waterfall, known to locals by a variety of names, including but not limited to: Ayer’s Falls, Bailey’s Falls, and, perhaps most interesting, Water Nymph. Though the falls are not particularly large or domineering, they blend well with the surrounding greenery and rocky outcrops to form quite the picturesque scene, a rare little pocket of natural beauty within eastern Connecticut’s landscape. Likewise, there exist many spots along the park’s winding hiking trails that offer a stunning view of the ravine and wooded slopes. Though the often steep trails can be a bit intense for the casual hiker, the views of the waterfalls, streams, and the ravine itself make the effort well worth it.
For those with a vested interest in Connecticut’s flora and fauna, the nature preserve also offers a glimpse into one of CT’s rarer species of fern, a protected plant known as Asplenium Montanum or, in layman’s terms, the mountain spleenwort. This plant, native to the Appalachian Mountains and a few isolated locations in New England (Bailey’s Ravine being one of them, of course) grows mostly in craggy cliffs and rocky landscapes. It remains bright green and lush throughout the year and, as it is spread throughout the entirety of Ayer’s Gap, lends the park a near-tropical appearance year round. The fern’s rarity is partially responsible for the Nature Conservancy’s decision to purchase the park and, in more recent times, has spurred a variety of maintenance projects and park-wide cleanup efforts so as to better preserve such a rare species.
The final (and perhaps most interesting) facet to the Bailey’s Ravine history are the remnants of the trolley line that had once run throughout the park and the surrounding towns. The trolley line is part of a larger system of Connecticut street transportation, which opened in the autumn of 1905 and, in the following decade, was expanded to encompass a large portion of the state. Now abandoned, the line used to run all the way from East Lyme, toward the Niantic River, and further into eastern Connecticut, with a multitude of stops and stations along the way. Bailey’s Ravine, as one might guess, with its waterfalls and lush scenery, was a rather notable stop along the line, one last glimpse at Connecticut’s natural landscape before the trolley carried on into Willimantic. While the trolley line no longer functions, parts of it still exist scattered throughout the state, and it is by no means difficult to picture what the line might have looked like in its heyday.
The Connecticut Digital Archive, of course, is home to a fascinating selection of artifacts and digital resources relating to Bailey’s Ravine and the surrounding areas. Entering “Bailey’s Ravine” into the repository’s search engine yields 33,605 results, from images of the 20th century trolley lines, to pictures of the park itself, even to information on the spleenwort and other rare and protected animal and plant species in Connecticut. While the collection and curation of these objects may not be immediately apparent to some, the very fact that such objects are housed within the CTDA shows just how much effort various organizations across the state put into preserving both Connecticut’s natural landscapes and its histories. Even a little-known location such as Bailey’s Ravine is home to an abundance of novelties, which give an incredible, albeit intensely localized, account of Connecticut’s past. The CTDA and its affiliated organizations seek to illuminate individual histories and features from all corners of the state, no matter how insignificant they may seem, and Bailey’s Ravine is a perfect example of such dedication.
All in all, Bailey’s Ravine truly is one of Connecticut’s hidden gems. From its scenic landscapes, fascinating flora and fauna, and former ties to Connecticut’s trolley line, it certainly holds a great deal of significance to the state’s past. Its nature as a hub for lesser-known CT trivia and status as a nature preserve lend it a great deal of significance not only to eastern Connecticut and those towns immediately adjacent to it, but to the state as a whole.
For more information of Bailey’s Ravine, its rare species, and the CT trolley line, visit the following links!
Connecticut Digital Archive Connect is the publication of the Connecticut Digital Archive, a program of the UConn Library. Visit https://ctdigitalarchive.org to learn more.
