Spruce and Orchard Glen Preserve

History

1892

Charles A. Kinney, who owned roughly 100 acres of farmland adjacent to Spruce Glen, purchased 18 acres of the Glen from Joseph Hough. This was the first of four land purchases made by Kinney, who would eventually come to own the majority of Spruce Glen by the early 1900s.

1897

Charles Kinney purchases two tracts of Spruce Glen from Joseph Gilbert, one of 18 acres and the other of 60 acres, bringing Kinney's total holdings of Spruce Glen to 96 acres. Prior to the land sales, Gilbert and Kinney had discussed their mutual desire to preserve the natural beauty of the location.

1905

Charles Kinney buys 60 additional acres of Spruce Glen from the "Richard Miller heirs", bringing his total holding at Spruce Glen to 156 acres. Following this fourth and final purchase of land, it would seem that Kinney now owned most, if not all, of Spruce Glen.

1927

After several years of allowing the public to freely access and enjoy Spruce Glen, Kinney decides that he can "no longer afford to maintain a public park at his personal expense". He offers to sell the land to the state.

Ownership by Charles Kinney

Information concerning the state of Spruce Glen Preserve, as owned by Charles Kinney, comes from a 1927 article in the Meriden Journal.

By 1927, the area of Spruce Glen had "long been a favorite beauty spot of Meriden in the minds of many residents". At that time, the area was privately owned by Charles A. Kinney, who had amassed approximately 156 acres of land encompassing Spruce Glen, of which "one half [was] wooded, and the other half [was] excellent tillable soil." Kinney maintained the area as something of a public park for several years, but decided in 1927 that he could "no longer afford to maintain a public park at his personal expense" and was determined to sell the parcel. Despite receiving several offers for the property, he was most interested in selling Spruce Glen to the state for conversion into a state park.

Kinney explained that his original farm of 100 acres had been adjacent to, but did not include, any of Spruce Glen. Kinney made his first purchase of Spruce Glen land in 1892 from Joseph Hough. Around 1897, he purchased 78 additional acres of Spruce Glen from Thomas Gilbert, who shared Kinney's desired preserve the land's natural beauty. Finally, around 1905, Kinney purchased another 60 acres of Spruce Glen from the "Richard Miller" heirs. Thus, when Kinney related his land ownership to the Meriden Journal in 1927, he counted 156 acres of Spruce Glen that was under his ownership.

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