Topsmead

Topsmead is a 510-acre estate with meadows, forests, and a preserved English Tudor house featuring slate roofs and cypress woodwork inside. The property includes hiking trails, formal gardens, and various areas designed for different outdoor activities throughout the seasons.

Edith Morton Chase received the property from her father in 1917 and commissioned architect Richard Henry Dana Jr. to design the house in the Tudor Revival style in 1925. The residence was built as a private home and later transformed into a publicly accessible site.

The main house displays furniture from 17th and 18th-century English country homes arranged with stuccoed walls and terra cotta tile floors. These furnishings show how affluent people of that era lived and what objects they valued in their daily surroundings.

The property is best explored on foot with sturdy shoes, as trails pass through forests and meadows with varying conditions depending on the season. Access to the house is by guided tour only, so it is worth checking availability before planning your visit.

The gardens were designed by Ellen Shipman and feature carefully planted collections of holly, lilac, juniper, and apple trees. This botanical composition reveals early 20th-century garden design and remains visible in its original layout today.

Location: Litchfield

Inception: 1972

Architectural style: Tudor Revival architecture

Operator: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

Website: https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Forests/Topsmead-State-Forest

GPS coordinates: 41.74694,-73.16000

Latest update: December 6, 2025 17:43