Fence posts dot the forest

#MiddleburyCT #MiddleburyLandTrust #TuttleWoods

Concrete posts, some with bits of old wire attached, were a mystery for recent hikers in the Middlebury Land Trust’s Tuttle Woods. A member of the family that originally owned the land revealed their purpose, which showed they were evidence of Middlebury’s more agrarian past. (Janine Sullivan-Wiley photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN–WILEY

A recent Middlebury Land Trust (MLT) hike went through the Tuttle Woods preserve. Keen observation brought up a mystery: what were the concrete posts that marched off in both directions from the trail, a short way off the entrance on South Street, and who put them there? Remnants of wire wrapped around some of them.

A bit of investigation, and conversation with Dusty Tuttle yielded the answer, and provided a window into Middlebury’s more agrarian past. Dusty, who now lives in Florida, is part of the family that originally owned this parcel and donated it to the MLT. The first Tuttle owner was Dusty’s great-grandfather, Howard T. Tuttle, followed by Donald S. Tuttle, followed by Donald S. Tuttle Jr and finally Dusty (Donald S. Tuttle III), and his siblings.

Tuttle described how he watched that land go from field to forest over the decades. That is a common memory for many folks who have been here for generations. Early on, the Tuttle land was mostly fields – the Biscoe farm – with beef and dairy cattle moving back and forth from grazing land to the large barn that was later burned down. As for those old concrete posts with their wire remnants, they held the wire fencing in place to keep the cattle from escaping the fields.

Dusty recalled with fondness the family that worked the farm starting with Domenic Rinaldi, who worked for his grandfather, lived into his 90s and was “an incredible human being.” Rinaldi tended pear, plum, cherry and apple trees, raspberries and strawberries, tomatoes, asparagus, eggplant, lettuce and corn. Rinaldi’s nephew would come over, and Dusty recalled watching them in fascination as they yelled at each other in Italian over which branch to prune … a cherished part of their relationship.

Dusty said, “I had to take care of all this after everyone died. I stopped the garden and just mowed the grass, a chore that took 4 ½ hours with a Locke mower.” In an issue familiar to many farmers today, it was the unprofitability of farming that led to the farm’s closure and eventually the land’s return to forest.

Tuttle remembers his grandfather planting the pine trees that can be found in and around that preserve. His father and grandfather planted them on the right and left sides of the road to create a tunnel effect – now lost as many of those trees are now gone, from old age or replaced by houses. Within the preserve, the natural succession of hardwoods can be noted: towering native tulip trees, as well as oaks, maples, hickory, black birch and more.

What is now Tuttle Woods comprises three parcels: #5, #19 and #25 on the MLT map. Together they total about 55 acres. If you’re interested in taking a hike there (and checking out those posts and remaining white pines), the main entrance is on South Street, not far from its intersection with Sandy Hill Road. The other entrance is on Sandy Hill Road, but it’s a bit harder to spot. Both are marked with the new Middlebury Land Trust signs. Trail maps can be found on the MLT website. The diverse terrain in there includes rocky, root-filled, pine needle covered and fern-filled sections of the trails, and a beautiful little brook.

Contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com. You can visit the Middlebury Land Trust on Facebook or the website at middleburylandtrust.org. Happy hiking!