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Six Lakes Story
Powder Farm, also known as Six Lakes, is a hidden gem with 102 wooded acres and five ponds located just north of Hamden's Newhall neighborhood.
Owned by out-of-state Olin Corporation, this area has been unused for decades. Many in the Hamden community drive by it daily, unaware of its ecological value. Largely undisturbed by human presence, here are acres of winding forested trails that shelter songbirds, water fowl, small mammals, amphibians and other wildlife.
Prior to its purchase by Olin Corporation, this area was a testing ground for the Winchester Rifle company and still bears the scars of lead pollution from munitions testing. The Hamden Land Conservation Trust (HLCT) became interested in the property for its open space potential in the 1980s. For about ten years in the late 1990s and early 2000’s, Olin permitted the land trust to host yearly nature walks on the property, many of which were led by former HLCT president Jim Sirch. That came to an abrupt end in 2013 when those annual hikes were disallowed by Olin.
Yale Forestry School Documents
This work by the Yale School of Forestry was carried out in 2003-2004 and remain today the definitive over view of the six lakes property.
