Tennessee is the Volunteer State, but there is a town that is older than Tennessee in Connecticut that is “The Home of the Volunteers.” It's called Voluntown, naturally, and it has been around since it was established in 1700. The town, such as it is, is situated in a surveyor’s wedge where New London County meets Windham County, and both of them meet Rhode Island.
Prior to permanent settlement, few people visited the future Plantation of Voluntown’s terrain. It is hilly, upland country, by Connecticut standards, on the fringe of civilization where enlightenment dwindles as soon as the Rhode Island border is crossed. This was unsettled territory prior to 1700, visited by Pequots, Mohegans, Nipmucs, and Narragansetts, on expeditions for game.
The town was formed when the Connecticut General Court was petitioned to reserve land for the soldiers who had volunteered in the 1675-76 Narragansett War. The town was incorporated in 1728, and given full privileges as a self-governing community.
Never a bustling metropolis, the population of Voluntown has held fairly steady, hovering around 2,000 citizens during recent decades. While its borders enclose thirty square miles, most of this town is untrammeled forest. Seventy percent of the town’s land belongs to the State of Connecticut, in the form of the Pachaug State Forest. At 26,000 acres, Pachaug is the largest woodland in the Connecticut state forest system. This particular state forest began with the initial purchase of acreage in Voluntown in 1928, and it has continued to expand its expanse ever since.
It is easy to get lost in Voluntown as its roads wind through what seems to be primeval woodlands. In fact, traces of former civilization can be found. Abandoned foundations of farmsteads, and meandering stone walls, tell the tale that this was once fields and dairy lands before it was reclaimed and returned to its pristine state.
For hikers, the chance to amble along Pachaug’s extensive trail system is an unrivaled opportunity to experience the New England landscape. The Nehantic Trail, the Pachaug Trail, and the Narragansett Trail all wind between the maples and hemlocks that have grown, undisturbed, for more than a century. Trails are also dedicated to horseback riding, bicycling, and motorcyclists. Anyone who appreciates undisturbed tree stands and the wildlife that inhabits them, can take their fill in Voluntown.
Mount Misery is a peak within Voluntown which hints at how inhospitable the terrain can seem. The trip to its summit offers picturesque overlooks of the surrounding land, as well as geological features common to the glacial upheaval southeastern New England experienced prior to the Ice Age. The hardscrabble ground, and exposure to winds at relatively high altitudes, have encouraged strange shapes from the pitch pines and the white pines that sprout from the mountain’s side.
A rhododendron sanctuary is nestled within Voluntown’s environs. A native colony of giant rhododendron trees flourishes in a white cedar swamp. These trees are rare in New England, and this undisturbed enclave blossoms around Independence Day, every year. A short trail wends through the trees, offering a rare treat for those who enjoy unsuspected delights where few choose to venture.
Of course, this being New England, the colors of autumn attract many tourists to the region to engage at leaf-peeping at their leisure. Voluntown’s economy is geared toward serving people who prefer a more rustic vacation option. Campgrounds and family resorts abound in the town. Natural wonders are Voluntown’s drawing card, but aspects of civilization are in evidence at the core of this ancient community.
The center of town is small, just an intersection of rural, state highways that converge at the town’s green. A simple sign on the green tells the town’s history in prosaic prose. There are a few stores, a few small hotels, a package store, a few, homey restaurant, two gas stations. There is nothing that would make anyone believe Voluntown is a tourist mecca, and it is not. It is a place to which people retire for awhile to enjoy the reinvigorating aspects of the natural world.
Source
- Connecticut Town Profiles 1998-1999, Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Research Section, Hartford, CT.
Whalehead King - A professional writer for fifteen years, Mr. King specializes in medical administrative and transportation issues, and local history.
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