Bates Woods
Bates Woods is approximately 85 acres of historic woodland trails around wetlands and ancient rock ledges in northwest New London, Connecticut.[1] The park accounts for nearly half of the city's 221 acres of public open space, or about 6 percent of New London's total land area.[2]
A BioBlitz surveying event in 2003 identified 1,691 species in Bates Woods in less than 24 hours,[4] including the goldcap moss-eater moth (Epimartyria auricrinella), which has been called a living fossil.[5] Stone walls and other park features date to the Works Progress Administration and earlier centuries.[6]
Connecticut State Archaeologist Nicholas F. Bellantoni has noted the possibility that evidence of American Indian life could be uncovered in Bates Woods, particularly where stone outcroppings would have provided shelter for migrating tribes.[7]
History
[edit]Bates Woods was purchased by park commissioner George S. Palmer on April 2, 1912 at a cost of $8,000 “for [the] purposes of a public park.”[8] A year earlier, the local newspaper reported that “20 men [were] at work to quarry and cut the stone in what is called Bates Woods” for the spire at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea church on Huntington street in downtown New London.[9]
The purchase of 100 acres in Bates Woods for a “picturesque public park” signaled a watershed year for New London, as the city bought hundreds of acres of land for a comprehensive park system that was being designed by landscape architect John Nolen.[10]
During its first decade as a park, however, concern began to grow that Bates Woods was not being properly managed.[11] High school students called for improving the park,[12] and The Tattler section of The Day newspaper expressed a desire for a “bigger and broader policy in the matter of maintaining city parks.”[13]
References
[edit]- ^ City of New London Office of Development and Planning (1997). Plan of Conservation and Development: City of New London, Connecticut. pp. 4.24, 10.11.
- ^ City of New London Office of Development and Planning (2007). Plan of Conservation and Development: City of New London, Connecticut (PDF). pp. 46, 48, 154.
- ^ City of New London Office of Development and Planning (2017). Plan of Conservation and Development: City of New London, Connecticut (PDF). p. 59.
- ^ Amanda Falcone (2003). "BioBlitz Team Braves the Rain to Scour New London Locales for Different Species". The Day, Sunday, June 8. p. B7.
- ^ "BioBlitz 2003". mnh.uconn.edu.
- ^ Bates Woods Park: Master Plan: New London, Connecticut. Hamden, CT: Raymond, Parish, Pine & Weiner, Inc. 1977. p. 1.
- ^ Bethe Dufresne (2003). "State Archaeologist Digs Bates Woods". The Day, Wednesday, October 1. pp. B1, B6.
- ^
- For the initial press release, see "New London Buys 100 Acres for Picturesque Public Park". The Day, Wednesday, April 3. 1912. p. 12.
- For an update on the transaction, see "Park Bonds Issue to be Considered". The Day, Monday, August 5. 1912. p. 6.
- For transaction details, see "Important Events of Past Year that Occurred in the City of New London: April". The Day, Wednesday, January 1. 1913. p. 5.
- ^ "St. Mary's Spire to be Completed by August 15". The Day, Friday, April 28. 1911. p. 12.
- ^ John Nolen (1913). General Plan of a Park and Playground System for New London, Conn. Boston: Press of G. H. Ellis Co.
- ^ "Things Told by the Tattler". The Day, Tuesday, July 10. 1917. p. 7.
- ^ "High School Students See Ways to Improve City". The Day, Thursday, March 27. 1919. p. 10.
- ^ "Things Told by the Tattler". The Day, Saturday, April 12. 1919. p. 6.
41°21′14″N 72°07′16″W / 41.354°N 72.121°W