Photos
Top left: Bonnie Enes took this picture from the canoe as we approached our landing at the southern end. Are these walls shale or sandstone?
Top right: Click to enlarge picture and you will see through the trees where Stony Brook enters the Connecticut River. Just above the two dark holes that indicate the channels of Stony Brook you will barely see the canal path.
Bottom left: Gives new meaning to "eager beaver".
Bottom right: Fern meadow. I know it's dark, but if you click on it you can see the vast area covered by low ferns.
Exploration
The island itself is high above the river at the north end showing mostly sheer shale or sandstone cliffs (I’m not sure which – could be both). As one proceeds south, the island is reduced in height and ends in a sandy point.
Our hike from south to north is very easy. There are paths worn probably by fishermen. I would imagine when the Shad are running it gets crowded out there. Our line of sight is very open. There is very little in the way of underbrush to inhibit the hiker. From our landing spot, I was able to get a clear picture of the east bank of the river; from the other side, looking west, you can barely see where Stony Brook enters the river. The canal, when it was built, 1827-1829, was an engineering marvel because it was built over Stony Brook. The Erie Canal (“Clinton’s Ditch”) was built, 1817 – 1825.
We were mostly interested in finding the old foundations of two houses and some out buildings that were supposed to be on the island. We did find one house foundation and what looked to be either a barn or animal shelter of some kind. Only foundations are left. Close to the house foundation we found a large circle of stones with a depression in the middle. Our best guess was this used to be the cistern, or well, used by the household and served the animals also.
Our hike ended at the northern headland of the island, high above the waterline. Here we ate our lunch. Mine was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and bottled water. It was a pleasant place to rest. We saw no evidence of the island being used by nesting eagles, although I know there are eagles in the area during the winter. The canal bike path is closed to all users during the winter to protect nesting wildlife. I never could figure that one out because eagles nest from February through July and there are no nests along the canal or on the island that I’ve ever seen.
We hiked back to our canoe taking great interest in the flora and other interesting photo ops the island presented. In a future posting I will put up pictures of the plants and mushrooms with an explanation of what they are.
The island has an interesting and rich history. Check with the libraries in Suffield, Enfield, East Windsor and Windsor Locks, Warehouse Point, CT to see what books they might have. If you Google “Terry’s Island, Suffield, CT”, you will find a couple of items, but not really very much. A new accounting series of its history entitled, “Terry's Isle”, written by Bonnie Enes and Bill Fournier, will appear in The Suffield Observer. Enes, formerly of South Windsor, is currently residing in Bloomfield, CT and Fournier (who owns the canoe and was our guide) is from Windsor Locks. Bill is writing about the geology of the island. I guess this is where I’ll find out if the cliffs are shale or sandstone or both. ☺
(to be continued)
