State rich in shared history

The Connecticut State Parks Twitter feed provides a running report during warm weather weekends of state residents who have had it with quarantine. Southford Falls State Park in Southbury; Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden; Paugussett State Forest in Newtown — all those and more were closed at various points over Memorial Day weekend due to overcrowding. Trails around the state have seen three times the traffic as the same time last year, and it’s not hard to understand why, what with everyone mostly trapped inside for months on end.

Still, plenty of parks are large enough to absorb the crowds, and most people are adapting to social-distancing norms that allow everyone to enjoy the outdoors with fewer worries. And for those able to brave the parking lots, there is much to be learned about Connecticut’s history hidden away in our public places.

For instance, Roxbury and Bridgeport have more in common than you might think.

Considering barely 2,000 people live there, Roxbury has an outsized reputation as a literary hub. Writers from Arthur Miller to Frank McCourt to William Styron have called the Litchfield County town home over the years, and the appeal is easy to understand. It’s the kind of place people in the other 49 states picture when they think of Connecticut.

The Roxbury Land Trust is following the same strictures as other public parks around the state, with social distancing encouraged and sites subject to closure as lots fill up. It has multiple preserves. It’s close by, about a half-hour drive from the lower Naugatuck Valley. And 150 years ago, the town was the scene of thriving heavy industry.

The land trust website tells the story. What came to be known as Mine Hill in Roxbury had small quantities of silver and lead, but much more iron ore, and a type that held specific value in Europe and elsewhere. This led eventually to the construction of mining and ironworking operations off what is now Route 67 on the way to New Milford, structures that still stand and form the basis of the present-day park as part of a 3.5-mile loop trail.

“Between 1865 and 1868,” a history on the website states, “the firm greatly extended the mine tunnels and constructed a rail bed to convey the ore down the hill from the mine. At the base of the hill, near the New Milford road, workmen built two ore roasters, a blast furnace, a steel puddling furnace and a rolling mill,” which are still visible. In addition, there were “long wooden buildings enclosing the working area around these structures,” which have disappeared.

The mines dotting the hillside are still around, too, helpfully covered to prevent injury but still visible through metal grates. In 1872, a railroad station opened at the base of the hill, and later a new quarry was opened nearby. But work there didn’t last long.

“After having invested so heavily in the construction of the plant, the Shepaug Spathic Iron and Steel Co. did not have enough capital left to tide it over after early delays in production and necessary repairs to the machinery. … The American Silver Steel Co. moved the steelmaking facilities to Bridgeport and limited work at Mine Hill to the mining and smelting of ore.” Even that much soon came to an end, and the forest reclaimed the land.

Connecticut is among the smallest states, but its divides are as sharp as anywhere in the country. Roxbury may fit the postcard vision of Connecticut for outsiders, but our cities are just as much a part of who we are.

And despite our differences, there is plenty of shared history. Bridgeport, our largest city, is today known more for retired smokestacks than retired writers, but that’s unfair to a city with its own rich history in the arts. Tiny Roxbury has its share of all manner of Connecticut history.

As we emerge from coronavirus quarantine, we would all do well to remember our commonalities — provided we can give each other a little space, too.