City, State Join Forces for Fairytale Ending of Historic Hearthstone Castle

From City of Danbury:

Mayor Mark D. Boughton has announced that he and Director of Planning Sharon Calitro recently met with Todd Levine, Historian/Environmental Reviewer/Freedom Trail & W3R Coordinator from the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development State Historic Preservation Office and Executive Director Daniel Mackay and Circuit Rider Brad Schide from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation to discuss the City’s plan for creating a walled garden at Hearthstone Castle. State officials agreed with the City that the proposed walled garden use, a concept that was developed in a 2013 study partially funded by the state, is the best use for the historic ruin.

The City’s $10,000,000 2016 Public Improvement Bond referendum contains an allocation of $1,600,000 for Tarrywile Park Improvements that includes preparation of detailed design and construction plans for the creation of the wall garden, removal of the contaminated debris, stone removal, and stabilization of adjacent rock retaining walls. The City has indicated that it will analyze the stability of the exterior walls of the Castle once the debris is removed. Structural reports to date identify a concern over wall stability due to the collapsed interior floors and roof and continued deterioration of exposed interior masonry. State officials concur with this assessment and methodology and agree that a determination of final wall height can only be made upon further analysis once the debris is removed.

State officials acknowledge the City’s limited funding for this endeavor and have offered to work on the City’s behalf to seek additional funding from state or federal sources.

“We are pleased with the outcome of our meeting and have agreed to a plan to work together to assess, fund and develop what in the end will remain of the historic Hearthstone Castle,” said Mayor Boughton. The City has always maintained that it would evaluate the condition of the exterior walls and leave the remains of the Castle accessible and safe for the enjoyment of Tarrywile Park users. “This represents an opportunity to implement what we had always envisioned with the cooperation and support of the state agencies” he added.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay