Tunxis Forest Ski Cabin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Tunxis Forest Ski Cabin
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | W end of Balance Rock Rd., Hartland, Connecticut |
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| Area | 6.5 acres (2.6 ha) |
| Built | 1937 |
| Built by | Civilian Conservation Corps |
| Architectural style | Rustic-log cabin |
| MPS | Connecticut State Park and Forest Depression-Era Federal Work Relief Programs Structures TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 86001761 |
| Added to NRHP | September 5, 1986 |
The Tunxis Forest Ski Cabin is a super cool old building located in Hartland, Connecticut. It's a special ski lodge found deep in the Tunxis State Forest. This cabin was built way back in 1937 by a group called the Civilian Conservation Corps. It's one of the very few ski buildings from that time still standing in Connecticut! Because it's so important, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Exploring the Tunxis Forest Ski Cabin
The Tunxis Forest Ski Cabin is in the eastern part of Tunxis State Forest. You can reach it after a short hike from Balance Rock Road. Imagine a cozy, single-story building made completely of logs. It has a pointy roof and a huge chimney made of big, rough stones.
The logs are put together very carefully at the corners. Each layer of logs is a tiny bit smaller than the one below it. The front of the cabin has three sections. There's an entrance door with two square windows on each side. The walls on the sides of the cabin each have two square windows. The roof sticks out quite a bit, and you can see the wooden beams that hold it up, both inside and outside.
How the Cabin Was Built
This cabin was built to be the main lodge for a ski area. It was constructed in 1937 by workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was a program during the Great Depression that gave jobs to young men. They worked on projects like building parks and roads.
As part of their work, the CCC also built Balance Rock Road. You can still see some of their old culverts (tunnels for water) and retaining walls along the road. The CCC also built another ski area in Mohawk State Forest, but nothing from that one remains today.
The Tunxis Forest Ski Cabin is the only big part left of the old Tunxis ski area. The forest has grown back over where the ski slopes used to be. This cabin is thought to be one of the oldest things still around that's connected to downhill skiing in Connecticut!
