The Sheep Farm is an 18th-century farm spread over 63 acres of varied terrain and Avalonian ledge. Fort Hill Brook flows through the farm and on into Mumford Cove. This eel grass cove on Long Island Sound provides pristine habitat for fish and shellfish and is a regional recreational and environmental treasure. The Sheep Farm connects to more than 50 acres of proposed open space and is close to more than 1,700 acres of open space. Highlights include:
- Waterfalls over a spectacular 10-foot rock ledge
- Wetlands that provide a key Amphibian Habitat
- Vernal Pools 3 major and 2 minor, exceptional rock-lined vernal pools
- Green Belt to Mumford Cove
- Meadows seeded with native grasses and flowers
- Mountain Laurel Forest
Animals on the Sheep Farm Wetland Species Four-toed, Spotted and Redback Salamanders, Wood Frogs, Green Frogs, rare Spire Shelled aquatic Snails, aquatic Gordian Worm, Mayflies, Stoneflies, Caddisflies, Dragonflies (larval evidence of excellent water quality) Birds Great Horned and Barred Owls, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Wood Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Northern Oriole, Big Brown Bat, Wild Turkey Other Animals Flying Squirrels, Red Fox, Bobcats, Fisher Cats, Coyotes, Deer Insects White Great Northern Bumblebee, Spring Azure, Fritillary, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and many more Butterflies
Highly Functioning, Productive Wetlands that provide estuary protection to the Mumford Cove habitat as well as flood control and water filtration services. Sigrun Gadwa, scientist and ecologist, observed the following about The Sheep Farm wetlands: “As a wetland scientist, I have evaluated several hundred wetlands over the past twenty years; the wetland system at the base of the Sheep Farm property along Fort Hill Brook is one of the highest-functioning that I have ever assessed. This property is an integral part of an important open space and wildlife corridor, extending all the way to Mumford Cove, the only remaining coastal embayment still clean enough for an eel grass population.”
History of The Sheep Farm The rich history of the Sheep Farm was fully researched by GOSA. Originally owned by the Jabez Smith family, the farm has been used for agricultural and industrial operations for over 300 years, and for raising sheep, up to 10 years ago. Original stone walls, now lichen-covered, rectangular stone foundations, probably for animal enclosures, an old road, the grist and other mill dams on site, are very well preserved. The 125-foot long, 15-foot wide grist mill dam straddles Fort Hill Brook, a perennial stream which runs through the property. There is evidence upstream on Fort Hill Brook of another mill, perhaps a fulling mill used to pound cloth to soften it, or perhaps a sawmill, from the early 18thcentury. The foundation of an early center-chimney gambrel 1700’s house, known as the Samuel Edgecomb House, is located on the property. Samuel Jr. “was ploughing rye at the time of the alarm (to defend Groton from the British) and left for the fort at once, not stopping to loose his oxen.” Samuel was a large man who fought the British by effectively throwing 18 pound shot, one with each hand, over the walls of Fort Griswold. Still surviving are boundary markers mentioned in the deeds, such as heaps of stones, stone walls tapering off on to rising ledges, two parallel stone walls, double stone walls, the stone barn foundation and the remains of the grist mill and other mills. The Sheep Farm property is in fact only slightly larger now than it was in Colonial times. Lichen covered walls run throughout the Sheep Farm, enclosing several large meadows, intact from Colonial times. Other stone walls end on rock ledges. There are six Major Rock Ledges with fine views over the Sheep Farm, woods and brook. Glacial erratics, large boulders left after the last ice age, are strewn throughout the Sheep Farm and adjacent fifty acres of proposed open space. An extensive Mountain Laurel forest can be found to the north of the Sheep Farm, intersected by Fort Hill Brook. Then a large Red Maple swamp is followed by Azalea gardens to the south. After a rain, the roaring waterfall can be heard throughout the land.
Native Plants on the Sheep Farm Trees Tulip, abundant Flowering Dogwoods, Butternut, remnant American Chestnut, American Sycamore, Tupelo, Sassafras, White Pine, Witch Hazel, Sweet, Gray and Yellow Birch Trees, American Beech, Pin Oak, Red Oak, Red Maple Shrubs Swamp Sweetbells, Summersweet, Early and Swamp Azaleas (fragrant – see picture below), Mountain Laurel, Spicebush, Buttonbush, Winged Sumac, Arrowwood, Maple-leaved Viburnum, Maleberry, Low and Highbush Blueberry Vines Native American Wisteria, Riverbank and Fox Grape Herbs Golden Saxifrage, Golden Ragwort, Cardinal Flower, Marsh Marigold, Starflower, Partridgeberry, Red and White Indian Pipes, Small Ginseng, Northern White and Marsh Blue Violets, Dolls Eyes, Canada and Pennsylvania Lilies, Water Pennywort, Water Dock, Early Meadow Rue, and Meadow Grasses – Little Bluestem Ferns Royal, Cinnamon, Interrupted, Ebony Spleenwort, Sensitive, Broad Beech, Crested Wood, Leathery Grape, Polypody and New York Mosses, Lichens, Mushrooms an amazing variety given the extensive wetlands
To view a slide show of the Sheep Farm click here.
Trail guide and map of the Sheep Farm.