Hamden in South Central Region, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)
Sleeping Giant State Park
The Tower
Photographed by Conrad Ward, April 6, 2025
1. Sleeping Giant State Park Marker
You are standing on the highest point of the Sleeping Giant range often called, euphemistically, "the Mountain" (739 feet above sea level). From here, for more than 1,400 years, the Native Quinnipiac surveyed their homeland - from vast woodlands over the extensive marshes of the Quinnipiac and Mill Rivers to the Long Island shoreline. European settlers to the area would likely have employed this and similar spots to scan their holdings and facilitate mapping and land divisions.
In the 1830s, United States government surveyor William Haswell is said to have undertaken the first survey of the area's coastline from this location. Locals reported that he spent two weeks on the ridge in a covered wagon.
Given the rugged nature of the terrain, several local aspiring prospectors desiring to join the California Gold Rush prepared for their journey on this and neighboring ridges.
In 1901, a socially prominent New Haven businessman, David Wiser, purchased land here and built a two-story stone house. Ownership passed to Wiser's brother, Willis, a New Haven policeman, then to Lucy A. Park, who sold it to the State of Connecticut
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From 1926 to 1934, the Connecticut Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club leased the building for $50 annually. "The Hut" served as an overnight hiking destination. Following the Club's departure, the structure stood vacant for a time.
In 1935, a chimney fire gutted the building that had been Wiser's home, leaving only the stone walls. At the time, the construction of the Tower Path by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps was well underway. The work plans were expanded to reuse the structure's remaining stone to build an Observation Tower. Sleeping Giant Park Association co-founder Bancel LaFarge collaborated with architect Russell F. Barker of West Hartford on design. Completed in 1938 and dedicated in 1939, the Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
During World War II, local volunteers watched for enemy planes from the Tower.
The Southern New England Telephone Company erected a structure (since removed) near the Tower in the 1950s to telecast Yale football games to Wolcott and beyond.
Weather damage prompted an extensive renovation project in
Photographed by Conrad Ward, April 6, 2025
2. Sleeping Giant State Park Marker
[Captions:]
Things to look for!
This dog was either a play on Architect Russell Barker's name or an image of Harry Webb's Doberman, Lucky
The Connecticut State Parks window
Harry Webb "signed" all of his work with a spider web
The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Referance Mark
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Exploration • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Parks & Recreational Areas.
Location. 41° 25.848′ N, 72° 53.427′ W. Marker is in Hamden in South Central Region, Connecticut. It can be reached from Tower Path north of Mt. Carmel Avenue, on the left when traveling north. Located in the ground level of the Sleeping Giant Tower. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hamden CT 06518, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Connecticut River Valley, on the Connecticut Shoreline,
Photographed by Conrad Ward, April 6, 2025
3. Accompanying plaque
owes its existence to
The Sleeping Giant Park
Association
and especially to the foresight,
enterprise and perseverance of
James W. Toumey Arthur E. Woodruff
J. Walter Bassett
Bancel Lafarge Arnold G. Dana
1915 - 1939
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Heaton Trail (approx. 0.2 miles away); Judge Cook's Oxen Road (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named Judge Cook's Oxen Road (approx. 0.6 miles away); Sleeping Giant State Park: The Tower Path (approx. 0.7 miles away); Edgar Laing Heermance (approx. Ύ mile away); Sleeping Giant: Stories of an Indigenous Place (approx. 0.8 miles away); Sleeping Giant Quarry (approx. 0.8 miles away); Walter Owen Filley (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hamden.
Also see . . .
1. Sleeping Giant (Wikipedia). (Submitted on April 5, 2026.)
2. Sleeping Giant State Park (CT State Parks). (Submitted on April 5, 2026.)
Photographed by Conrad Ward, April 6, 2025
4. Sleeping Giant State Park Marker
Photographed by Conrad Ward, April 6, 2025
5. The Tower in Sleeping Giant State Park
Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 5, 2026, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 14 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 5, 2026, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
