Community Corner

Hidden Gems Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

The latest Gem is a trail to an 1800s architectural marvel.

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The Farmington Canal Aqueduct historic marker on Route 10 in Farmington.
The Farmington Canal Aqueduct historic marker on Route 10 in Farmington. (Chris Dehnel/Patch)

FARMINGTON, CT — The latest Hidden Gem is a trip to the site of the old Farmington Canal Aqueduct and what was, for its time, an engineering marvel.

A sign designating the site juts out toward the road along Route 10 and a trailhead to discover the site is at a small pull-off area. It lends access to a trail system to view the remains of the aqueduct.

The trail head for the Farmington Canal Aqueduct access. (Chris Dehnel/Patch)

According to the Historical Marker Database, the Farmington Canal took on various topographical features like rivers, hills, roads and thick woods. Boats traveling the length of the canal passed through 28 locks that compensated for changes in elevation.

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Part of the canal was the Farmington Aqueduct, which carried boats across the Farmington River. It was comprised of a wooden trough that was 280 feet long, 6 feet deep and 14 feet wide. The trough was supported by two abutments at each end and a half-dozen sandstone "piers" rising 40 feet from the solid rock of the river bed.

A 6-foot-wide wooden platform elevated along the top of the piers served as a path for horses that towed the boats through the aqueduct’s waterway.

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After the canal was abandoned in 1848, the aqueduct fell into disrepair and the wooden structure eventually collapsed into the river. In the 1880s, two of the piers were dismantled and the stones reused in local building construction. The remaining four piers were destroyed in the 1955 flood that ravaged the area.

The abutment on the west riverbank is almost completely intact. The remains of the two abutments on either side of the river and the large stone base of one pier on the eastern riverbank are still visible.

The aqueduct trail map. (Chris Dehnel/Patch)
A brief canal history is at the trail head. (Chris/Dehnel/Patch)

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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 Hartford and Tolland counties. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to Chris.dehnel@patch.com.

Other Gems in this series:

2022

2021 and earlier:

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