Historical Sites on the Tri Town Trail

Spicer Rock. For generations, the Spicer family had family reunions on Spicer Rock.

Historical Sites from the 1600’s

The first settlers who came to this area were Peter and Mary Spicer in 1650. Peter came from England, and then he went to Virginia, where he was an indentured servant for ten years. After that, he traversed up here to New England where he married Mary, who was from Rhode Island. They settled here on that hill in the 1650s. 

Peter and Mary Spicer had 11 children. All survived to adulthood. When Peter died, there were still ten adult children. The one who had died had adult children. 

The Spicers lived on that hill - at that site - for five generations, which is approximately 100 years. There’s stone walls, stone foundations, and a hand-dug stone-lined well. There’s also a great, big rock called Spicer Rock. The Spicer family had family reunions at Spicer rock - that’s written in all the histories.

And then in the fifth generation, the property was divided. There were two sons, John and Cyrus. John took half of the property that was on the Avery Hill side, and Cyrus took the property that was on the Clark Farm side. Cyrus later moved to New York and sold his share to an Avery, and then eventually it got sold to a Geer, and then eventually a Geer sold it to the Clarks. That’s how it became known as the Clark Farm property and Joe Clark Brook.

And even though the Spicers are now all over the whole nation, some of them are still here near the Spicer homestead.

How do you get to the historical sites?

To get to the historical sites, go up the hill and under the power lines. Then take a hard left and go into the woods. The historical sites are part of the northern section, but they don’t follow the trail right now. There will be a new trail soon, but it’s not open yet. We just received the permit from Ledyard Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission to build the bridge across the little creek up there. This new trail could be open by the fall 2021, and hopefully by the grand opening of the trail.

Where is this information from? How can I learn more?

This information is shared by Karen Parkinson, President of the Tri Town Trail Association. Karen has two books on the whole Spicer history, which she says took a long time to get. Some of the books had to be reprinted. She’s been researching the whole history of the Spicers, and she finds bits and pieces of the history all over the place.