Adams Mill Trail is a Step Back in Time
- Peter Marteka
- Mar 16
- 3 min read
By Peter Marteka
Editor
I stood on a trail footbridge over a rusted gate that once fed water that helped to power a paper mill. I walked along an earthen dike to the remains of a brownstone dam that now looks strangely out of place in the middle of the woods. I climbed aboard an abandoned railroad to an old trestle bridge high above the Hockanum River.
Welcome to the Hockanum River Linear Park Committee’s Adams Mill trail, a natural world island’s escape to the past filled with industrial history of a bygone era now surrounded by 21st century development.
The out-and-back trail takes visitors past the vestiges of the paper mill’s industrial history along dikes and sluiceways, past broken dams and up to the abandoned railroad. Through much of the trip, the Hockanum, which means “crooked and windy river” in the Native American language, is your companion as it journeys down to the waterway’s final destination - the Connecticut River.
The adventure begins at an old brick building which serves as kind of a trailhead to the path. The trail climbs to the top of an old watergate with a footbridge passing over it. Below are the rusted remains of machinery that once opened the floodgates allowing water to pass through the mill.
From here, the trail splits with hikers traveling either south along an earthen dike or east along another section of the dike. Both trails eventually connect to each other. The trail traveling south showcases more of the river. The trail traveling east takes visitors past an old brownstone dam.
“In the 19th century, before backhoes and Caterpillar tractors, numerous dikes and dams were built along the Hockanum River to harness water power for mill machinery,” notes the committee’s website. “Except for the Union Pond Dam, all of the dams along the Hockanum were destroyed in a devastating flood of 1869. In 1863, Peter C. Adams had purchased a paper mill, outbuildings, 38 acres of land and Hockanum River water privileges.
“The Adams Mill flourished until Peter Adams' death in 1896,” the history noted. “Financial decline and failure closed most mills by the 1880s and 1890s, leaving a few mill buildings and many ruins...Behind the Adams Mill Restaurant can be seen ruins of the extensive system of dikes and two dams which were destroyed in the 1938 hurricane.”
From the dam, the trail snakes along the banks of the Hockanum and follows sluiceways eventually traveling up to the abandoned railroad and the trestle built in 1850. The views from the top of the trestle are amazing with the Hockanum far below more resembling a stream rather than a river.
The tracks were once part of the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad created in the mid-1800s with a line that ran from Fishkill, N.Y. through Hartford east to Willimantic and eventually to Providence. The Manchester portion of the rail line was eventually abandoned several years ago.
After the views from the top of the trestle, visitors can return to the parking area along the trails. Although the area’s industrial past has long since ended, the trails offer a glimpse back to a time when the Hockanum was harnessed and mills lined the river.
Directions: The trail entrance is on the left side of Elicit Brewing Co. at 165 Adams St. in Manchester about a half mile south of the intersection with Tolland Turnpike. There is ample parking to the left side of the restaurant.
Mileage and Difficulty: The out-and-back trail is about two miles long. The stretch to the top of the railroad can be a little difficult. Other than that, the trails are fairly easy to navigate. Visit http://www.hockanumriverwa.org/LPCM_AdamsMill.htm for a trail map.
Pets: Leashed pets are allowed but must be cleaned up after.
Signs of Civilization: Surprisingly few with the trail passing through the valley of a natural world island in a highly developed part of Manchester.
