Mendell’s Folly

Encompassing 125 acres, Mendell’s Folly is the largest property owned by the Bethany Land Trust. It is located off Route 42, straddling the border between Bethany and Beacon Falls, and features a trail system covering 1.5 miles.

History

Mendell’s Folly was given to the Bethany Land Trust in 1971 by Elizabeth “Tibby” Mendell, one of the original incorporators of the Trust. She and her husband Clarence Mendell, the former Dean of Yale College and Sterling Professor of Classics at Yale, had purchased the property and adjoining pieces in 1936.

In all, the Mendells acquired 190 acres. They purchased some of the land from Adrius Gabriliadus, who had farmed the area before his house burned down in the early 1900s. They also purchased land from Andrew Lasky, who lived nearby. Some of the land had been a cow pasture, some an apple orchard, some just plain Bethany woods. It’s been said that one of his students, on seeing this wilderness of muddy fields and rocky hillsides, called it Mendell’s Folly — a play on the name Seward’s Folly given to the U.S. purchase of Alaska.

After Clarence Mendell died, Tibby remained in Bethany on her “Folly.” Active on many town committees, she saw the Land Trust that she helped establish in 1968 as the perfect conduit for preserving her corner of the earth. “I’m not rich,” she said in 1971, not long before she died, “but it seems land like this should be preserved.”

Description

Mendell’s Folly includes heavily wooded hills, rocky outcrops and ridges, a charming brook, a marsh, a beaver lodge and dam, a ravine, and lots of wildlife and wildflowers. Hockanum Brook, or Lebanon Brook as it is sometimes called, flows through the property westward from Bethany’s Veterans Memorial Park toward Beacon Falls and eventually the Naugatuck River. The stream widens into a marsh in the middle of the property, where beaver have felled trees and created a lovely pond.

Trail Use

The Mendell’s Folly trails are suitable for hiking and, to a very limited extent, biking and horseback riding. From the main entrance, the trail begins with an easy grade. Tibby’s Trail (3,477 feet) offers good views of Hockanum Brook and the marsh, but becomes somewhat difficult near the beaver dam. The White Birches Trail (2,621 feet) has some steep, rocky inclines and rises to 560 feet. The Beaver Trail (1,886 feet) starts out easy but presents some difficult passages near the pond.

• No motorized vehicles.

• No hunting, trapping or fires.

• No camping (without Trust permission).

Access

The main entrance to Mendell’s Folly is located on an abandoned section of Northrup Road in Bethany. It can be reached from Route 42 by taking the access road at 355 Beacon Road. A small parking area is available at the end of this road. No vehicles are allowed beyond the parking area. The main entrance can also be reached by parking at the end of Northrup Road and walking down the unpaved portion. Another entrance is located off Route 42 in Beacon Falls, with limited parking (1 or 2 cars) by the side of the road.