Lover’s Leap State Park in southern New Milford, Connecticut, lies along the Housatonic River at the headwaters of Lake Lillinonah. Native Americans occupied this strategic site for more than 8,000 years, using its elevation for observation and signaling, while the fertile river valley, abundant game, and migrations of salmon, shad, eel, and other anadromous fish from Long Island Sound to the Great Falls provided a reliable food source. The Great Falls once blocked shad from migrating farther upriver, but after the construction of Shepaug Dam and the creation of Lake Lillinonah, the falls came to lie 14 feet below the Housatonic’s surface. The river gorge became associated with the legend of Chief Waramaug’s daughter, Princess Lillinonah, who canoed into the Great Falls after her white lover failed to return, while he later leaped to his death trying to save her. The last Native Americans known to occupy the site were the Weantinocks, led by the Great Sachem Waramaug, who lived in harmony with local white settlers; Waramaug died in 1735 and is believed to be buried near the gorge. The park also contains the ruins of the Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company, which operated from 1882 to 1927 using grinding wheels powered by the Housatonic River, and the site is recognized as one of Connecticut’s 16 State Archaeological Preserves and is listed on the State Register of Historic Places as an early manufacturing site. The 140-acre park began in 1971 when Catherine Hurd bequeathed her 52-acre estate to the State of Connecticut for public use, and it expanded in 2001 when Connecticut Light & Power Company sold 86 adjoining acres to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Among its notable features are Falls Bridge, a Berlin Iron Bridge Company lenticular truss bridge built in 1895, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and later refurbished, along with trails, an old railroad abutment used for fishing, and kayak and canoe access areas. In 2004, Friends of Lover’s Leap State Park was formed, and volunteers helped add parking and other improvements to support and preserve the park.

Photo: Michael Herrick

Photo: Michael Herrick

Photo: Michael Herrick

Photo: Michael Herrick