Farmington Canal Greenway - Cheshire, CT
Posted by: 
KDubs
N 41° 29.911 W 072° 54.884
18T E 674050 N 4596198
Quick Description: Rail trail from Cheshire, CT to Hamden, CT that used to be a canal and railroad track.
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 9/10/2009 8:05:54 AM
Waymark Code: WM76PZ
Views: 3
Long Description:On the heels of the completion of the Erie Canal in New York State,
a group of New Haven businessmen met in 1821 with the goal of
constructing a canal in Connecticut to facilitate trade. Ground was
first broken on July 4, 1825. It was completed in 1835.
The canal was not cheap to build, and the finances of the
construction and upkeep of the canal were always precarious.
Railroads put an end to the use of the canal. Just 12 years after
the canal was completed, a rail bed was laid to cover the same
route the canal had traversed.
The Canal Railroad remained in use until the early 1980's, when
floods damaged the rail line to the point that it could no longer
be used.
Although there is still a small portion of the original rail
line in use in Plainville, CT, the track was largely removed by
1987, and large portions of what had been the rail line were
sold.
During the 1990's, construction on a trail, following the route
of the original rail line was begun. The first sections were
completed in northern Hamden and southern Cheshire, followed by
extension southward in Hamden and northward in Cheshire.