Dart Island State Park

Dart Island State Park is a public recreation area comprising an undeveloped 19-acre (7.7 ha) sandbar island in the Connecticut River that is only accessible by boat.[3] The island is within the corporate boundaries of the city of Middletown, Connecticut, its nearest neighbors being the Middletown Generating Station and Pratt and Whitney plant on the river's west bank.[4] The island is wooded with "typical river trees like willow, poplar and red maple."[5] It is managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which lists boating, fishing, and bird watching as activities for visitors.[3]

Dart Island State Park
Looking south to the Connecticut River:
Dart Island (left) on the east side
of a narrow, protected cove
Location in Connecticut
LocationMiddletown, Connecticut, United States
Coordinates41°33′10″N 72°33′40″W[1]
Area19 acres (7.7 ha)[2]
Elevation7 ft (2.1 m)[1]
DesignationConnecticut state park
Established1918
Named forRussell Dart
AdministratorConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
WebsiteDart Island State Park

History

The sandbar was once used by fishermen who built a shed and equipment for managing fishing lines to harvest the river's hickory shad runs.[5] In 1918, Russell Dart donated the approximately 1.5-acre (0.61 ha) island to the Connecticut State Park Commission.[6] The commission designated it as Connecticut's fifteenth state park and named it for its benefactor.[7] The size of the park was subsequently rounded up to two acres in official publications while being rounded down to one acre when referred to unofficially.[8] In 1924, it was touted, unofficially, as being the smallest state park in the United States, with but a single acre.[9] In 1934, the State Register and Manual, the first annual issue to list parks and their sizes, set Dart Island State Park at two acres,[10] and it remained listed at that size for nearly 80 years. The 2012 edition of the Register and Manual listed the park at 19 acres (7.7 ha), the park's official size.[2][3][11][12]

According to Middletown's Harbor Management Plan, Dart Island "is considered undevelopable by the ... State Parks Division, which has no plans for [its] active use or management."[4]

Activities and amenities

The park may be used for bird watching, boating, and fishing. It is only accessible by water and has no facilities for the public.[3][13][14]

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References
  1. "Dart Island State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. "Appendix A: List of State Parks and Forests" (PDF). State Parks and Forests: Funding. Staff Findings and Recommendations. Connecticut General Assembly. January 23, 2014. p. A-1. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  3. "Dart Island State Park". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  4. "Chapter One: Background Information". Harbor Management Plan. City of Middletown. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  5. Leary, Joseph (2004). A Shared Landscape: A Guide & History of Connecticut's State Parks & Forests. Hartford, Conn.: Friends of the Connecticut State Parks, Inc. p. 80. ISBN 0974662909.
  6. Report of the State Park Commission to the Governor 1918 (Report). Hartford, Conn.: State of Connecticut. December 24, 1918. p. 26. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  7. "This Day in Connecticut State Parks History" (PDF). Connecticut Wildlife (November–December 2013). Burlington, Conn.: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Bureau of Natural Resources / Wildlife Division. p. 15. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  8. In the park's early years, the figure of one-and-half acres was rounded down to one acre by non-state organizations such as the National Conference on State Parks (see Proceedings of the Second National Conference on State Parks at Bear Mountain Inn, 1922. p. 162.) and the National Geographic Society (see "Bulletin (State Parks Grow Rapidly in Favor)". Lyon County Reporter (Gridley, Calif.), July 16, 1924.); in official publications, it was rounded up to two acres (see, for example, page 123 of "Public and Semi-Public Lands of Connecticut 1930". and page 227 of the "State Register and Manual 1934".).
  9. National Geographic Society. "1924 Bulletin". "State Parks Grow Rapidly in Favor," Lyon County Reporter (Gridley, Calif.), July 16, 1924. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  10. "State Parks". State Register and Manual 1934. State of Connecticut. 1934. p. 227. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  11. "Other Parks" (PDF). State Register and Manual 2012. State of Connecticut. 2012. p. 262. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  12. The park was identified as having two acres in 1930 ("Table XI: Name, Date of Establishment, Area and Location of State Parks". Public and Semi-Public Lands of Connecticut. State of Connecticut. 1930. p. 123. Retrieved March 24, 2016.) and as having 19 acres when DEP (predecessor to DEEP) listed the park on its website in 2010 ("Dart Island State Park". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2016.). Although the increased acreage has been otherwise unexplained, approximating the island's size using its dimensions of roughly 1000 yards long by 100 yards across at its widest point yields a figure roughly equaling 19 acres.
  13. In the mid 20th century, The Connecticut River Guide mentioned the island as having good camping spots, a feature not noted by the DEEP. See The Connecticut River Guide. Connecticut River Watershed Council. 1966. p. 26..
  14. Assessment of Dart Island has been largely negative. Middleton city officials denigrated it as a state park "in name only" (see "Chapter One: Background Information". Harbor Management Plan. City of Middletown. Retrieved May 29, 2014.); a blogger called it "not very interesting ... looking" (see "Dart Island State Park". The A to Z of CT State Parks. September 7, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2014.); and as of 2015 the operators of a charity regatta no longer use Dart Island as a finish line because it "isolated the event ... from the public" (see "Public Access to Finish Area" (PDF). 41st Connecticut River Raft Race Booklet. The Connecticut River Raft Race. 2015. p. 12. Retrieved March 24, 2016.).
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