The well-worn trail immediately climbs Lantern Hill. On the way up, after the path leaves a level stretch, hikers should watch for the blue markers of the Narragansett Trail carefully, as it intertwines with the local, red-blazed Lantern Hill Trail. Travellers should also beware of unmarked trails on the hill.
At an elevation of 490 feet (149 meters), the top of Lantern Hill offers panoramic views, including the Atlantic Ocean on clear days; the foliage in mid-October is also very pleasant. Vultures, most likely Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), can often be seen soaring at eye level. Notice the white rock under foot; the hill is almost entirely composed of milky quartz! Katharine B. Crandall describes a place on the hill from which Pequot leaders ("sachems") are said to have observed the area, "A little below the summit, on its steepest side, there is a natural seat of rock, which is known as the Sachem's seat" (p. 108). "Pequot" means "destroyers" -- a reference to the tribe's fierce warriors (Hughes and Allen pp. 750, 764).
Western panoramic view from Lantern Hill
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When taking in the western view, look for the tower of the Mashantucket Museum and Research Center.
Mashantucket Museum and Research Center,
enlarged autumn view
Eastern panoramic view from Lantern Hill
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Eastern panoramic view from Lantern Hill in autumn
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Southern view from Lantern Hill,
showing quarry site and Long Pond
Lantern Hill gets its name because its white cliffs are said to shine in the sun when seen from the sea (Caulkins p. 97; Crandall pp. 107-108; Detwiller). Some believe that Lantern Hill was also known as "Tar Barrel Hill." In August 1814, during the War of 1812, barrels of tar were set ablaze atop a hill to warn residents of the British approach along the coast. It may be unlikely that Lantern Hill is Tar Barrel Hill, being so far (on the border with Ledyard) from the more populated coast. A more likely candidate for Tar Barrel Hill is Jeremy Hill, about 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) to the southeast, on the Stonington/North Stonington border (Haynes and Boylan, p. 51; Heermance, pp. 246-247). The barrels were put in place on May 15 and set on fire on August 9, 1814 (Haynes and Boylan, p. 51). The smoke from the burning tar, not the light from the fire, may have been the warning signal (Grotz p. 32; Haynes and Boylan, p. 51).
The hill's quartz was first mined by David D. Mallory in 1870 ("A Growing Industry"; Haynes and Boylan p. 74). With a purity as high as 96.84% silicon dioxide, the mineral had many uses, including glassmaking, filter sand and construction aggregate. Lantern Hill quartz was used as an aggregate in the concrete faces of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts (Altamura, Tectonics, Wall-Rock Alteration pp. E31, E15). Paul Slade and his Gang reused narrow-gauge rails from the quarry to build a short marine railway where Yawgoog's sailing center is today. The railroad was used to move 28-foot (8.5-meter), surplus navy cutters into and out of Yawgoog Pond from the 1930s onward (Williams and Anthony vol. 2 p. 28). Lantern Hill is spiritually significant to the Pequots (Detwiller; "Bozrah's Healing Waters"); the tribe protected the quarry site by acquiring it from the U.S. Silica Company in 1994. To the south, it can be seen that much of one of the hill's lower summits was removed before mining ended.
Part of the former Silex/U.S. Silica quarry,
enlarged view
Postcards from Lantern Hill,
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The hill has seen two noteworthy characters, George Haskell and Saul Brown, as noted in The New Haven Evening Register in 1888 and 1896, respectively:
Dynamite Exploded in His Pocket
Mystic, Conn., Dec. 17. -- As George Haskell was carrying a dynamite cartridge in his pocket into the Lantern Hill silex mine, Saturday afternoon, it exploded, tearing away part of the left leg. Haskell walked down the hill, leaving a trail of blood, tied clothes around the leg, took a carriage and rode in the cold wind seven miles to the office of Dr. Bucklyn. Doctors Coates and Bucklyn dressed the wound, cutting out at least one pound of shattered flesh. The wound was twelve inches [30.5 centimeters] long and seven inches [18 centimeters] wide. The doctors report that they never saw such a display of courage.
Prophecies From Lantern Hill
Inspirations of a Sun Worshipper Who Lies on His Back
Norwich, Conn., Aug. 28 -- Saul Brown, who lives on Lantern Hill, claims to be a prophet and a sun worshipper. He spends several hours daily lying on his back, bare headed, and with only as many clothes as are necessary, gazing into the sun, and claims that while in this position he has visions of the future. Last spring he predicted the hot wave which passed over the country recently. He also predicted at the same time that the rivers and streams of Connecticut would be stocked with fish this summer far in excess of previous years. This prophesy has also come true. Porgies were more plentiful than for ten years, and the fishermen had to stop taking them, as the market was glutted. In New York wholesale dealers could not handle them, as the quantity brought prices so low they had to be sold at a loss. Now Brown says we will have one of the most severe winters on record. [The last prediction does not appear to have come true.]
The hill has also seen controversy. Local members of the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross on it in the mid-1920s (Den Ouden pp. 32-34, 229). Gambling in the reservation has also been controversial; bingo began in 1986 and the first casino opened in 1992.
It is fitting that the Atlantic Ocean can be seen from Lantern Hill, and vice versa, as the origins of the two features are related (Altamura, Tectonics of the Lantern Hill Fault; Altamura, Tectonics, Wall-Rock Alteration p. E4). Analysis of the quartz reveals that it is 238 million years old (Altamura, Tectonics of the Lantern Hill Fault; Altamura, Tectonics, Wall-Rock Alteration p. E2) -- the mid-Triassic Period of the Mesozoic Era in geologic time. Back then, dinosaurs roamed a supercontinent in which today's continents were combined into one landmass referred to as "Pangaea" or "Pangea," a name derived from a Greek expression meaning "all earth." It was in the mid-Triassic Period that Pangaea began to break up into separate continents, due to upwelling of molten rock ("magma") from Earth's interior. As present-day eastern North America and northern Africa began to separate, a rift valley formed between them; the valley would later become the Atlantic Ocean. As the breakup began, the Lantern Hill Fault opened in the surrounding bedrock, composed of schist (pronounced "shist") and gneiss (pronounced "nice"); the now-inactive fault runs south from the hill into the ocean. In the Lantern Hill area, hot mineral-rich waters ("hydrothermal fluids") filled the fault, allowing quartz to crystallize as the fluids cooled. Over time, erosion and glaciation scoured away the older, less-resistant schist and gneiss, while the younger, stronger quartz remained as the hill that exists today. The Green Fall River may be following another inactive Mesozoic fault, as it flows south from Green Fall Pond in Voluntown (Altamura, Tectonics of the Lantern Hill Fault p. 67).
The Narragansett Trail descends the hill by heading south; beware of unmarked paths. The blue blazes turn east to enter the North Stonington public works area, behind the town dog pound. The trail passes between a small retention pond to the left (north) and the dog pound to the right (south); it then turns turn left (north) onto the road between the pond and the large transfer station building; proceed to Wintechog Hill Road and cross it carefully to enter the forest on the other side. The trail joins a grassy road as it turns into a footpath that climbs Wintechog Hill. The hill's name may originate from Mohegan expressions meaning "berry place" (Hughes and Allen p. 761).
Instead of rising to the top of the hill, the path runs along its flanks, crossing the right-of-way of a buried natural gas pipeline. The trail eventually descends the hill to cross a meadow, known by the landowner as "Shelter Cave Field," along its southern edge; the adjacent field behind the fence and gate to the right (south) is known as the "Trolley Pasture." The route crosses the Shunock River/Brook at the dam at Hewitt Pond, also called Hewitt Flyfishing Pond or Gallup Pond (another Hewitt Pond exists to the northwest, on the other side of Route 2). "Shunock" is a Mohegan word for "stone place" or "where streams join" (Hughes and Allen pp. 410, 754-755); the river flows by a parcel of land known as the "Lower Barn Lot" by the landowner. The bridge across the dam was installed on June 7, 2007, made possible through the efforts of the Thames Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, the State Parks Division of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, the Avalonia Land Conservancy, and the landowner, Oldhaven Associates ("Hewitt Pond Bridge Installation").
Hewitt/Gallup Pond
Adjacent to the pond is Route 2 (Norwich-Westerly Road), which hikers should cross very carefully. Turn left (north), toward the traffic light, proceed a few yards, and turn right (southeast) onto Ryder Road. Please walk single-file on the left side of the road, facing oncoming traffic; the field to the left (northeast) is called the "Bee Hive Lot" by the landowner. About 700 feet (200 meters) from Route 2, the trail enters the forest by turning left (northeast) into The Nature Conservancy's Gladys Foster Preserve; watch for the blue markers on trees. The Narragansett Trail then climbs Cossaduck Hill. The rest of the journey is covered by other sections in this guide:
- Follow the Connecticut Countryside route from the preserve to the point where the trail meets Green Fall River on Green Fall Road.
- The trail leaves the road by turning left (north) to follow the river to Green Fall Pond and its dam. At the top of the dam, turn right (northeast) and follow the solid blue blazes. Do not follow the orange-on-blue blazes that cross the dam's causeway. The trail will cross an earthen dike, then the Green Fall River, and arrive at an intersection of trails on the northeastern shore. Hikers may wish to use the ponds's water pump, waterless latrines, and swimming area; if so, leave the solid blue blazes by following the orange-on-blue blazes that hug the shore of the pond and turn left (south) onto the road that leads to the pond's amenities. Hikers may return to the solid blue blazes by retracing their steps. After passing an Adirondack shelter at the old mill site, the trail reaches the three-way intersection with the AMC Tippecansett Trail. Care should be taken as the two branches both have yellow and blue markings; avoiding the left path that descends sharply, bear right (south) to Dinosaur Caves. Proceed along the state border to Camp Yawgoog Road. Consult the description for the Green Fall Pond Area, in reverse direction, for more information.
- Turn left (east) onto Camp Yawgoog Road briefly; in Rhode Island the Narragansett Trail is marked in yellow. Turn right (south) onto Yawgoog's Yellow Trail, which overlaps the AMC Narragansett Trail.
- At Cooning Orchard, follow the yellow blazes that overlap Yawgoog's Red Trail through the rhododendron swamp. After the trail rises from the swamp, the yellow blazes leave the Red Trail by veering left (east) to North Road. See the description of the Long and Ell Ponds Area for more detail.
- From the trail intersection between Long and Ell Ponds, follow the yellow blazes down (southwest) the rock formation and continue until the Narragansett Trail and this hike end at the former Ashville Pond swimming area on Stubtown Road. See the discussion of the Seven Pond Path for more information.
Trail-related Links
- Lake of Isles Scout Reservation
A memorial site to a camp that existed north of Route 2 and Lantern Hill. Maintained by Steve Daly. - Photographs of Lantern Hill
Search for "lantern hill" or "silex" in Connecticut History Online. - Mashantucket Museum and Research Center
The Pequots are Native Americans of southeastern Connecticut. - Turkey Vulture Society
Promotes scientific study of and education about Turkey Vultures, which can often be seen from Lantern Hill. - Trout Unlimited - Thames Valley Chapter
Non-profit fishing organization that lead the installation of the new bridge at Hewitt Pond (Gallup Pond). - Avalonia Land Conservancy
Local conservation organization that assisted in the installation of the Hewitt Pond bridge. - Oldhaven Associates
Organization that owns Hewitt Pond and the farm nearby.