Salt Meadow Trail System

Salt Meadow Trail System. Points of Interest. , 1 Lawn and Meadow Habitat , This area, adjacent to historic buildings and the modern-day parking lot, is maintained as it was circa 1940. At that time it was the center of a summer estate called "Salt Meadow" by its owners Esther Lape and Elizabeth Read, two professional women who lived and worked in New York City. The women, along with their close friend and frequent guest Eleanor Roosevelt, enjoyed horseback riding, badminton, gardening and other outdoor pastimes while here., 2 Enoch Murdock House , This home (circa 1750) was built by the Murdock family, who were some of the early settlers of Westbrook. Originally it was a simple post and beam farmhouse. After Lape and Read built the large fieldstone manor house in 1929, this smaller adjacent home was clad in a stone exterior to match the big house, while the inside retained its colonial look., 3 Lape-Read House , This large home was used as a summer residence by Esther Lape and Elizabeth Read from 1929, when it was built, until 1972 when Lape turned her property over to the federal government to create Connecticut's first national wildlife refuge. The style of the building is extremely unique for this area. Designed in the style of an Alpine lodge, this type of home is called a "Cascina" in the mountains of Italy and Italian-speaking Switzerland where it originated., 4 Historic Log Cabin , This small cabin is the last survivor of four log structures, including a horse barn, built here following the famously destructive hurricane of 1938. Elizabeth Read had the idea of using all the downed trees to create rustic cabins in which she, Lape and their guests could stay. The cabin was the perfect place for a quiet evening of reading or conversation with friends., 5 Historic Stone Structures , This spot overlooking the salt marsh was a favorite place for Lape and Read to have sandwiches, tea and other refreshments while enjoying the scenery and wildlife. The stone box was stocked with ice blocks and would keep food and beverages chilled. The round structure was a large slate table and seating area where meals were eaten., 6 Salt Marsh Habitat , Fresh water flows in from Gatchen Creek and the Menunketesuck River, mixing with salt water from Long Island Sound, to create this large marsh. Depending on the season, the time of day and the tide cycle, visitors may see egrets, osprey, ducks, crabs and many other wildlife species here., 7 Historic Stone Walls , Stone walls like this - quite common to the area - were used by early New Englanders to mark property lines and to make pens for sheep and other livestock. They were preferred over wood fencing because they last a great deal longer and they provide a convenient way of utilizing the many stones unearthed while clearing soil for farming., 8 Eleanor Roosevelt's Railroad Stop , Although the Westbrook railroad station is less than two miles from Salt Meadow, Eleanor Roosevelt never had to bother with that short commute from town. When visiting Esther Lape and Elizabeth Read, train engineers would let the First Lady off here by the trail, where her friends would greet her and walk with her up to the main house., 9 Deciduous Forest Habitat , This part of the refuge contains some of the oldest remaining maritime forest left in the state. Forests in Connecticut are of the "oak-hickory" type. In addition to containing many of those trees, this forest also contains birch, tulip poplar, maple, cherry, sassafras and a few evergreen varieties., 10 Scrub-Shrub Habitat , This habitat type, once extremely common, is rare in Connecticut now. It consists mainly of woody shrubs and small trees like sumac and sassafras. Wildlife species such as the eastern towhee, cottontail rabbit, eastern box turtle and many others spend their time here. The plants here provide a great environment in which to shelter and hide, as well as to forage for berries and other food.