Editing Spruce and Orchard Glen Preserve (section)

=== 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.''<ref name="mj1927">Spruce glen may be included in system of parks. (1927, Feb 14). Meriden Journal. Retrieved from http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o8pHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Lf8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1732,6349187&dq=spruce%20glen%20wallingford&hl=en</ref>

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.