“Due to the very generous outpouring of donations from private citizens and businesses throughout the Southbury area and beyond, this spring we were able to paint our notably historic barn,” stated Leslie Kane, the Audubon Center at Bent of the River Executive Director.
Kane stated that donations provided the funds for the Audubon Center to hire the expert skills of General Painting of Danbury. “They went beyond the contracted job by sprucing up the sleighs once used by the previous property owners Howard G. B. and Althea Clark, plus our garden bench. They truly went well beyond their scope of work to make the Bent shine. The newly-painted bright colors will welcome a host of migrant birds and visitors this spring.”
This historic barn and the more than 700 acres that comprise today’s Audubon Center at the Bent of the River were donated through the estate of Althea Clark in 1993. She and her husband, Howard G. B Clark, lived on the abundant property beginning in 1934. They bought the property, which consisted at that time of 350 acres, a historic brick house now named the Clark House, and the barn. The purchase price was $15,000. Through the years the Clarks and the National Audubon Society purchased hundreds of additional acres from neighboring farmers.
“The Audubon Center’s barn dates back to at least the 1860’s and parts of it likely date back to the 1830’s,” stated Kane. Located immediately on the historic Rochambeau Trail that traverses through the Audubon Center’s 700 acres, Kane remarked, “This barn is truly a wonder to behold with its remarkable chestnut beams and traditional barn structure. It is an exemplary barn, for both its age and remarkable history.”
Through the ages, the barn has been used to house animals, hay, wagons and even cars. Currently, the barn and its surrounding gardens, picnic areas, and bird-watching loft serve as a remarkable location for the Audubon Center’s hosting of visiting school groups and summer campers plus fundraising events and festivities throughout each year, including the Bent’s very popular family-oriented Bent Fest held each fall.
The mission of the Audubon Center at Bent of the River in Southbury is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats. Located along the Pomperaug River and bordering Little Pootatuck Brook, the Bent of the River nature center and the sanctuary is a private, not-for-profit organization that protects over 700 acres of numerous natural ecosystems, habitats, un-fragmented forest, grasslands, meadows, swamps and a portion of the Pomperaug River.
There are more than 15 miles of hiking trails throughout The Bent on varied and beautiful terrains. The Bent features many ecosystems including deciduous and coniferous forest, rocky ledges, grasslands, old meadows, vernal pools, red maple swamps, and river habitats. The Audubon Center owns both sides of the Pomperaug River for almost one mile which is an undisturbed and wild environment where beaver, muskrat, river otter, and mink can be found, and where Bald Eagles regularly fish.
The Center attracts more than 170 species of birds have been recorded among the Bent’s 700+ acres, and The Bent’s highly diverse ecosystems have been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Connecticut, protecting open land and wildlife over one square mile.
For more information on the Audubon Center at Bent of the River, please visit http://bentoftheriver.audubon.org, or call 203-264-5098.