The Shade Swamp Shelter is a historic rustic shelter on the north side United States Route 6, just east of New Britain Avenue in

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 census. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles ...

. Built in 1934 by a crew of the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC), it is one of the state's finest examples of the CCC's Rustic architecture. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1986.

Description and history

The Shade Swamp Shelter is located in southwestern Farmington, a largely rural-suburban area. It stands at the southern end of the Shade Swamp Wildlife Management area, a state-owned area bounded on the south by US 6, and the west by New Britain Avenue, with the

Pequabuck River The Pequabuck River is a river, approximately 19 miles (30.6 km) in length, which rises in Litchfield County, Connecticut, and courses through neighboring Hartford County before emptying into the Farmington River in Farmington. The river has ...

draining most of its swampland near its eastern edge. It stands adjacent to a small gravel parking area, which serves as a trailhead for a Blue-Blazed Trail into the area. It is a modest open post-and-beam log structure, with lattice framing at the corners and diagonal support braces. The interior floor is flagstone, with a rustic bench built around the perimeter. The roof is supported by log rafters and finished in wooden shingles; in a distinctive flourish, the interior ceiling is finished in white birch logs arranged in a

chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

pattern. The state began acquiring portions of Shade Swamp as a management area beginning in 1926. The shelter was built in 1934 by the

, as part of a trail-building program into the underutilized area. Despite its public location (it is visible from the road), the shelter remains in good condition, and the ceiling is a stylistic detail not seen in the state's other surviving CCC structures. The structure is no longer standing, having collapsed sometime between 2021 and early 2022, but remnants of the stone floor exist at its site.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Buildings and structures completed in 1934 Civilian Conservation Corps in Connecticut Buildings and structures in Hartford County, Connecticut Farmington, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut 1934 establishments in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References