Hidden Gems Of Connecticut

SIMSBURY, CT — This week marks the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day in America and it has connections both to Connecticut and a Hidden Gem being revisited.

The Pinchot Sycamore, located at 20 Hartford Road (Route 185) in Simsbury at the Bataan Corregidor Memorial Bridge over the Farmington River, is the largest tree in Connecticut. Its trunk measures more than 28 feet around and it is about 100 feet tall.

The first American Arbor Day was observed in Nebraska in 1872 and an estimated one million trees were planted in that state. Connecticut's Birdsey Northrop made the day a global affair after delivering his "village improvement message" during a visit to Japan in 1883, state archives show.

Northrop then became the figurehead for the American Arbor Day movement.

Back to the Pinchot Sycamore ....

Located at the base of Talcott Mountain, the tree and accompanying park offer views of the Heublein Tower atop the mountain. Hundreds of visitors stop by each year to take family photographs encircling the massive trunk.

At night, the tree is illuminated by floodlights.

The sycamore, estimated to be between 200 and 300 years old, was dedicated in 1965 to Gifford Pinchot, a former Simsbury resident who was the country's first head of the U.S. Forestry Service, as appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt. He later became governor of Pennsylvania.

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Connecticut.

Columns in this series in 2022 include:

• Lacrosse Unlimited
• The Holy Land Cross
• Jefferson Fry Co.
• Hartford History Center Suffragist Sculpture
• Windsor Locks Canal Irish Workers Monument
• Utsav Indian Cuisine
• The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
• The Rein's Reuben
• Frontier Airlines at Bradley
• Munson's Chocolates
• Connecticut River Valley Wildlife Museum
• LobsterCraft
• Center Springs Park
• MLK Monuments
• The Connecticut Historical Society

Columns in this series from 2021 include:

• The First Decorated Christmas Tree
• Bolton Notch Trail Bridge
• Civil War Drum
• Civil War Powder Keg
• Mile 4, Manchester Road Race
• The West Hartford Armory
• The Capitol's Nooks and Crannies
• Wickham Park Aviary
• 55 West Main, New Britain
• Fox Hopyard Golf Course
• The Dodd Center For Human Rights at UConn
• Manchester Ropes Challenge Course
• 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm
• Fuego Picante Food Truck
• The Amistad
• 9/11 memorials
• Club Champion Golf Fitters
• New England Civil War Museum and Research Center
• Avery's Soda
• Salt 2.0 Restaurant
• The Grave of Jonathan, The Original Husky
• Golden Gavel Auction House
• Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut
• The Cogswell Temperance Fountain
• The Old State House
• BouNom Bakery
• Union Pond Park/Jay Howroyd Fitness Trail
• The Submarine Force Museum/USS Nautilus
• The UConn Dairy Bar
• Grove Hill Cemetery, Vernon
• Backwoods Smokin' BBQ
• The Ranch House
• Connecticut State Police Museum
• Berlin Historic District
• Connecticut Parachutists Skydiving Club
• Tail Winds Ice Cream Shop
• The MLK Mural
• The Hilltop Restaurant and Bar
• Fork & Fire
• Lena's Italian Kitchen
• The Benedict Arnold Trail
• Swank Pearce
• Vernon Depot Historic Park
• Farr's Sporting Goods
• Robs Drivin Diner