East Kent Hamlet Nature Preserve
39 Kent Hollow Road, South Kent
The East Kent Hamlet Nature Preserve, formerly known as Camp Francis, is a 252-acre property in Kent and Warren, most recently operated as an overnight camp by the Girl Scouts of Connecticut. Before that, it was a country getaway and farm occupied by the Barnum and Venter Families. The land is located in an historic part of Kent, in the “Town Character Area” known as East Kent Hamlet. The property was the site of Kent’s first iron forge, Morgan’s Forge, built in 1744 and operated through 1867. Associated with the forge were two saw mills and a grist mill, operating with power generated from damming the West Aspetuck River and forming the existing Beaman Pond (known historically as Bronson’s Upper Mill Pond). There was once a Lower Mill Pond as well. The forge stonework remains and adjoining mills are still visible on the property. A store, post office, and church at the intersection of Route 341 and Kent Hollow Road further defined the hamlet. East Kent Hamlet also included a rooming house or inn, in operation sometime around 1912.
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KLT’s acquisition of the EKHNP in February 2014 was truly a community effort. The purchase was made possible through funding from several sources, including individual donors, state and federal agencies, and the Towns of Kent and Warren. Connecticut DEEP’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program provided $500,000 toward the $1.5 million purchase, while $520,000 came via the Highlands Conservation Act, administered by the federal Fish & Wildlife Service. The land trust also partnered with a number of local organizations, including the Housatonic Valley Association and the Warren Land Trust, as well as The Conservation Fund and The Norcross Wildlife Foundation.
Acreage: 263
Distance: Bromica Trace, 0.4 mi; Waterfall Trail, 0.1 mi; Red Eft Trail, 1.2 mi; Barnum Loop, 0.7 mi
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
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Located on the old site of Camp Francis, a summer retreat for Fairfield County Girl Scouts from the 1930s to the early 2000s, the East Kent Hamlet Nature Preserve hosts over 2.5 miles of roads and trails. To access most of the trails, follow Camelback Road south from the kiosk. After about 0.1 miles, go right for a short downhill hike to a lovely 50’ stepped waterfall. Another 0.2 miles down Camelback Road are the Girl Scout barn and former parade ground, now a meadow. From here, the Red Eft Trail follows a paved road to the left, leaves and reenters Kent while circling around a forested hilltop, and returns via the meadow. The green-blazed Barnum Loop begins near the south end of the meadow and explores a tranquil woodland in the southeast corner of the Preserve. The blue-blazed Bromica Trace runs from near the kiosk around Beaman Pond, crosses a stream, transects a small woodland, and ends near the intersection of Route 341 and Kent Hollow Road.
In 2018, KLT started to renovate the old Girl Scout barn, known as The Rafters. The 2019 roof repairs were partially funded by a $10,000 grant from the the 1772 Foundation in cooperation with the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.