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Birthday cake LbNA #9720 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jul 30, 2004
Location:
City:East Haddam
County:Middlesex
State:Connecticut
Boxes:1
Found by: The Domedreamers
Last found:Apr 19, 2005
Status:FFFFFFFFFFaaaa
Last edited:Jul 30, 2004
Birthday Cake Letter Box


Devil's Hopyard State Park
East Haddam, CT
366 Hopyard Road
East Haddam, CT 06423
860-873-8566
Open Year-Round - Free Entry

First in the Moondance Birthday series of letterboxes, placed in commemoration of one of The Lover’s birthdays.

This should take thirty to forty minutes if you do nothing but find the box, with some moderate climbing at the end for a very short space. All bearings in our directions are magnetic.

From CT Route 9: take Exit 7, then a left at the end of the exit ramp onto CT Route 154 north. Take a right at the first traffic light and follow the signs.

From Interstate 395: take Exit 80 west. Take a right onto CT Route 82 west. Take a right onto Hopyard Road and follow signs.

From I-91S: take Exit 22. Take Route 9S, Exit 10. Take Route 9AS to Tylerville. Take Route 82E over CT River for about 3 miles. At the stop sign take a right, and then take immediate left. Follow that road for approximately 8 miles, then follow the signs.

We come in on Hopyard Rd. turning north off of State Rt. 82. Scenic little drive along the northern part of Eightmile River.

History & Lore:

In 1919, the former State Park and Forest Commission obtained an 860 acre parcel located in the Millington section of Haddam. The principle feature of the park, Chapman Falls drops more than sixty feet over a series of steps in a Scotland Schist stone formation. The falls also once powered "Beebe's Mills" which were named after the original owner. The mills operated until the mid 1890's.

The explanations for the name "Devil's Hopyard" run quite a gamut, from ghouls reportedly seen among the hops vines to weekly dances, or hops, run by a man named Devlin. The explanations don't satisfy historians, but they do say something about the imaginations of New England's early settlers.

One tale interests both geology and history fans. At the base of 60-foot Chapman Falls are a number of perfect cylinders, called "potholes," bored into the stone by pebbles caught in eddying water. Early settlers speculated that the Devil was so angered by getting his tail wet in the falls that his hooves burned holes in the rock as he hopped around in distress.

The "Connecticut Outdoor Recreation Guide," published by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association; "Connecticut Place Names," by A.H. Hughes and M.S. Alien; and "Connecticut, A New Guide," by William Bixby, recount several theories on how Devils Hopyard gots its name.

The name Devil's Hopyard was first used in connection with Devil's Kettle, a large circular hole on Kettle Hill. A large cavelike opening in a ledge on the opposite bank of the river was called Devil's Cave or Devil's Oven.

At one time, a quarter-acre field of hops grew alongside the road. The Hopyard portion of the name could have come from the malt house of Malt House Brook, 3 miles to the south. Historians also speculate that hops may have been soaked in potholes that were worn in rocks below Chapman Fails.

But, where did the devil come from? Supposedly, a man named

Dibble grew hops in the area. Converting his name to Devil wasn't a large stretch, but more fascinating are the spine-tingling tales told by early residents. One is of a minister's son who was abducted by a man with formidable horns. Another tells of a boy who was seized by a man with a head like a bull and taken on a wild wagon ride down Kettle Hill. Residents also believed that the devil sat above Chapman Falls, playing his violin, while directing witches as they mixed magic potions -beer?- in the potholes.

Devil's Hopyard may have a folklore devil, but it had a real angel: Miss A.G. Willard of Colchester. In 1919, she urged the state park and forest commission to do something to stop a logging operation in the area. Within a month, the state bought the land, the logging stopped, and it became a state park for all to enjoy.

There are more than 15 miles of hiking trails (mostly also suitable for mountain biking), which lead through a variety of terrains, from hemlock forest to marsh to river shore. One trail leads to a scenic vista; another extends outside the park to the town of Millington.

The park is used by cross-country skiers and snowshoers.

While the sounds of Moodus will intrigue visitors, the setting of Devil's Hopyard will truly tap into the deep recesses of visitors' imaginations. The craggy landscape is the perfect setting for the supernatural and a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. For centuries, the 860 acre State Park was used by Native Americans as a meeting and gathering place. According to some local legends, the park is named for Satan himself, who reportedly played in the house band while the Black Witches of Haddam held sabbat. The Dark One reportedly enjoyed a perch atop Chapman's Falls, a 60 foot waterfall in the park's center.

Whether or not you choose to believe these legends, the tales certainly provide fodder for guests in search of legends and settings that inspire the imagination.

Well, now it is time for some cake!!!

Find your way to the main entrance on Hopyard rd., and park by the picnic area along the river by the wooden covered bridge. Walk back along the road as if you are going back out of the park, and when it takes a sharp right-hand turn, proceed strait along under the gate along an old forest road.

Proceed down the road, the river will be babbling to your left and pine bowers to the right. Cross a brook on a dilapidated wooden bridge, then cross a second brook shortly thereafter. A little ways on you will cross a fallen “porcupine” log.

The path then forks, take the right-hand fork. Follow the path up to the road and cross to the “ No parking emergency exit only ” sign. Continue down the old logging road/trail you find here, which bears about 330.

You will cross a bridge, then pass a woodpecker tree on the right. Just before you get to a second bridge, turn left (west) and follow the small trail along the brook up the hill. Note the small waterfall.

When you encounter the first of a series of moss covered boulders above the falls, veer left off the trail towards 220, to the twin moss bottom trees. Your cake is hidden behind these trees under a small cairn. In the winter these boulders and the moss at the base of the twin trees are low and may be difficult to see with snow cover. Slightly further up the trail from the boulders is a small stream that feed in above the falls. If you go to there, and then back to the last major tree on the left side of the trail (facing up hill) then you are in the right spot for the veer to 220.


Be sure to look for other letterboxes in the Devil's Hopyard while you are there, Curious George and the Giant's Chair, Devil in the Hopyard and the Hopbox are not far away!