About the Cheshire Connecticut Linear Park
A portion of the former Farmington Canal is now the Farmington Canal Linear Park in Cheshire Connecticut. Cheshire's trail is part of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.
The original canal was used for transporting cargo barges, pulled by mules or horses, from Massachusetts to New Haven from 1828 to 1848 and ran for about sixty miles. The barges carried goods and passengers between ports. A trip from New Haven to Cheshire cost sixty two cents and took nearly five hours. Local children enjoyed swimming on the canal in the summer and skating on the canal in the winter. It has been reported that in 1839, the Amistad slaves were transported on the canal from the New Haven Prison to Farmington. Horse carts then took them to the Courthouse in Hartford for trial. After 1848,the Farmington Canal Line became the mainline of the New Haven & Northampton Railroad. The rail line was abandoned in the 1980s.
Lock 12 is the only restored Lock remaining today. It is a historic reconstruction of the actual lock used on the Farmington Canal. It is located on the Linear Park in Cheshire. There is also a small museum about the Canal on the Lock 12 site. Today, the former canal line is part of the East Coast Rails to Trails Initiative. The park is approximately 3 miles long in Cheshire and connects to an additional three miles south to Hamden and New Haven Connecticut. Expansion continues north to Southington, Connecticut. If you are interested in cycling on the Linear Park and other Connecticut bike routes: CTBikeRoutes.org
Here are some pictures that I have taken of the Linear Park.
The original canal was used for transporting cargo barges, pulled by mules or horses, from Massachusetts to New Haven from 1828 to 1848 and ran for about sixty miles. The barges carried goods and passengers between ports. A trip from New Haven to Cheshire cost sixty two cents and took nearly five hours. Local children enjoyed swimming on the canal in the summer and skating on the canal in the winter. It has been reported that in 1839, the Amistad slaves were transported on the canal from the New Haven Prison to Farmington. Horse carts then took them to the Courthouse in Hartford for trial. After 1848,the Farmington Canal Line became the mainline of the New Haven & Northampton Railroad. The rail line was abandoned in the 1980s.
Lock 12 is the only restored Lock remaining today. It is a historic reconstruction of the actual lock used on the Farmington Canal. It is located on the Linear Park in Cheshire. There is also a small museum about the Canal on the Lock 12 site. Today, the former canal line is part of the East Coast Rails to Trails Initiative. The park is approximately 3 miles long in Cheshire and connects to an additional three miles south to Hamden and New Haven Connecticut. Expansion continues north to Southington, Connecticut. If you are interested in cycling on the Linear Park and other Connecticut bike routes: CTBikeRoutes.org
Here are some pictures that I have taken of the Linear Park.