Bartlett’s Tower

This half mile section of the blue blaze Metacomet Trail, part of the 235 mile New England Trail is a pretty standard ridge line walk.

Heading north: 0.6 mile road walk on Rt. 189 to Tarrifville Gorge

Heading south: Wilcox Park

Matthew Henry Bartlett, better known as M.H. Bartlett built two towers in 1867 and again 1889 inspired by the Prospect House at the summit of Mt. Holyoke in Massachusetts. The first tower was actually built just south of modern day Heublien Tower. It opened on July 4th 1867 as a resort offering visitors croquet, swings, a piano and dancing platform with tables in a grove for picnics, a telescope to observe the view, and a Summer House for refreshments.

Bartlett sold the tower and land in 1889 to Robert Hoe and when Hoe tore the tower down, Bartlett decided to built a second tower at its current location with easy access to the Tariffville Train Station. Standing 70 feet high, the tower had guest bedrooms on two floors and an observation deck at its top with an attendant pointing out places of interest to guests. There was a 50-by-70-foot pavilion with tables and chairs, a bowling lane, dance floor, and piano.  Field glasses (early binoculars) and “Claude Lorraine” glasses—whose tinted lenses and convex mirror allowed tourists to view the landscape as if it were a miniature landscape painting—were provided. A nearby grove had tables and seats for large parties, swings, croquet, quoits, and a seesaw.  Mark Twain was apparently a frequent visitor.

Bartlett sold the resort to Antoinette Eno Wood in 1898. She turned it into a private retreat and renamed it Manahoose Lodge.  The wooden tower was destroyed by fire in 1936.

• Peter Marteka – Visiting Bartlett’s Tower In Bloomfield (2013)