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Bennett's Pond
State Park
Ridgefield |
| Bennett's Pond State Park was once the home of Louis D. Conley, a successful manufacturer and nursery man, whose estate of more than 1,500 acres was one of the largest in Ridgefield. Today the park’s 460 acres are just a portion of 1,800 contiguous acres of open space in both Ridgefield and Danbury. | |
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 Bicycling |
 Hiking |
 Hunting (Fall archery for deer only) |
 Fishing |
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| About Hunting: Bennett’s Pond is open to fall archery hunting for deer only. Deer hunting with firearms is not permitted. Please refer to the Hunting and Trapping Guide for season dates. |
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| Gravel Parking, Trails |
Bennett's Pond, Ridgefield |
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From I-84 East or West: Use Exit 3 to Route 7 south. Stay on Route 7 for 3.6 miles and turn right onto Bennett’s Farm Road. |
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Within Danbury: Follow Route 7 South from Miry Brook Road/Wooster Heights Road about 3.5 miles south then turn right on Bennett’s Farm Road. The park/parking entrance is about ¾ mile west of Route 7 on the right. |
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| There are no parking or entrance fees for Bennnett's Pond State Park. |
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| Bennett’s Pond State Park has been a favored location for beauty and viewscapes for decades. This 460 acre park is less than half of what once was the estate of Louis D. Conley. Conley, a New York City native, retired from his lead position in the family tin foil manufacturing business in 1914 at the age of forty. He and his wife moved to Ridgefield where he, as did many well-to-do residents of New York City, assembled his estate. At an elevation of over 700 feet above sea level he captured breezes and enjoyed wonderful views from his 34 room mansion and grounds which he called Outpost Farm. It truly was his outpost from the hot and crowded New York City summers. |
| Conley’s farm, which began as a hobby, grew to attain outstanding commercial success as a nursery. By 1922 he was providing trees and shrubbery to corporations, municipalities, colleges, including Yale and Harvard, other estates, most notably Franklin Roosevelt’s Hyde Park, and scenic roadways such as the Berlin Turnpike, turning his Outpost Nursery into one of the largest on the east coast. His great financial success enabled his philanthropy. Of principle interest was the creation of a summer camp on his estate for underprivileged boys from the City. |
| Like many of Connecticut’s exclusive estates of the time, Outpost Farm was mostly self-contained. Food crops and livestock supplied the mansion with necessities and the 90,000 gallon water system guaranteed water throughout the seasons. This infrastructure enabled Conley to house scores of nursery workers on the property. |
| But by September of 1930 Conley had contracted meningitis. On the seventh of the month he died. By today’s standards his age of 56 years would be considered young. |
| Outpost Nurseries continued operations for 15 years before it was sold by the family. By the 1960’s the mansion building was part of a private, though failing, boys school. In 1968 the structure and remaining grounds were sold at auction. Formal plans and proposals bore no fruit and by 1974 the mansion was razed. |
| Today Conley’s legacy of beauty and open space continues. In 2002 the mansion site and hundreds of acres of former fields became Bennett’s Pond State Park. It is a refuge from the seemingly inevitable growth that continues to advance upon it borders. Within the park peace and quiet dominate. Primary trails lead north from the parking area through the hills and past the shallow 56 acre Bennett Pond where wildlife viewing is nearly guaranteed for those with a light step. |
| Almost nothing recognizable remains of the estate. The mansion, houses, and barns are gone. Here and there vestiges of stonework can be found, but little else. The hundreds of farmed acres are now predominantly re-grown as a mix of deciduous trees with occasional stands of conifers, though many tree species from Conley’s nursery days can be found as well. And thus, perhaps fittingly, the greatest tribute to the man whose nursery dominated the east coast for two decades is the thousands of trees that remain on the grounds and throughout the community he called home for sixteen years. |
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| Other Nearby State Recreation Areas Include: |
Putnam Memorial State Park, Redding
Location: Turn left out of Bennett’s Pond State Park parking lot and travel for ¾ mile to Route 7. Turn right (south) on Route 7 and follow 2.9 miles to Topstone Road. Go left (east) on Topstone for 2 miles to its end. Go left (north) on Umpawaug Road and follow for one mile to Route 53/Redding Road. Go right (south) on Route 53/Redding Road for 2.5 miles. Turn left (east) onto Route 107 and follow for 3.7 mile to park entrance on left.
Activities: Historical Site, Picnicking, Interpretive Trail, Museum, Youth Group Camping, Pond Fishing, Ice-skating
Charge: None |
Seth Low Pierrepont State Park, Ridgefield
Location: Turn left out of Bennett’s Pond State Park parking lot and travel for ¾ mile to Route 7. Turn right (south) on Route 7 and follow 1.0 mile to intersection with Route 35 (Danbury Road). Follow Route 35 south 2.7 miles to intersection with Main Street. Go right (north) for 0.1 mile and bear left onto Route 116. Follow 116 north 2.1 miles and turn right (east) on Barlow Mountain Road. Follow for 0.3 mile and turn left. Follow signs for car-top boat launch/park entrance.
Activities: Boating, Fishing, Hiking,
Charge: None |
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