Since the sale to the City in 1985, the City through the Department of Environmental Protection funding has purchased an additional 119 acres to add to the Park’s holdings. Many of the buildings have been renovated to provide rental income for the Park which helps maintain the park grounds and buildings.
Speaking of the future, the TPA has updated the Master Plan of Development for the Park and we present our plans for the future development to the citizens of Danbury and the Common Council annually in December/January. The plan calls for continued improvements to the Park, keeping the mission of passive recreation, environmental education and historic preservation as the continuing theme throughout the plan. The TPA would like to stabilize the Castle to make future renovations possible, they have plans for improving the trail system, adding much needed additional parking, building a picnic pavilion in the farm area which would generate revenue for the Park while supplying a much needed service to the citizens who can’t get space at the very popular Hatters Pavilion, renovating the farm’s Red Barn Environmental Center to provide additional programs in the environmental education area, to turn the replaced Silo into a gallery that would showcase the farm’s history and act as a trail head for the Ive’s Trail and enhance the wetlands educational area where bird watching and habitat viewing are enjoyed.
As you can see, this is an exciting and also troublesome time for Tarrywile Park and the Tarrywile Park Authority, with our funding from the City being cut steadily each year it is more important than ever that local businesses and park users step up to support the park either monetarily or through volunteer programs. I urge you to come out and enjoy the park, your park, whether for a hike, picnic lunch or just to sit quietly and enjoy the beauty of nature and relieve some of the stress of our daily lives, all just minutes from Downtown Danbury.
I would like to thank you all again and hope that you will visit and observe for yourselves what a gem Tarrywile Park and Mansion truly is.