Nathaniel Lyon Memorial State Park

Nathaniel Lyon Memorial State Park

Connecticut State Park

5 acres in Eastford, CT

Parking:  Small lot along Kingsbury Rd Eastford, CT

Trail Map        Trails: Less than a mile        Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Nathaniel Lyon Memorial is a tiny state park surrounded entirely by the Natchaug State Forest and trailed by the blue blaze Natchaug Trail.

The park is mostly a picnic area next to an old chimney though it easily connects to the Natchaug trail network for hikes of any distance.

History:

Established as a state park since 1920 when the state purchased 216 acres around it. The park is named for Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union general to be killed in the Civil War.  Today much of the original land has been split into the Natchaug State Forest with only a few acres around the homestead designated as the state park.

1903 Photo of General Lyon’s homestead (Hartford Courant 1903)

Links:

• CTMQ  – TSTL’17.6: Nathaniel Lyon Monument (2017)
• Peter Marteka – Hiking A Path From Civil War General’s Birthplace To Final Resting Place (2015)
• “Lyon’s Grave. Why Legislature Took Action.” Hartford Courant, 29 May 1903, p. 18.

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Last updated March 2017