A hike into the past where a great oak once stood in Ledyard

In this week’s Nature column, Peter Marteka describes a visit to the grounds of the Nathan Lester House and the 110-acre Great Oak Park in Ledyard.

The Bottom Line: A hike with a history lesson — from a lonely cemetery, to the remains of a 400-year-old oak, to an 18th-century house, which is home to the Ledyard Historical Society and a farm tool museum.

Difficulty Level: Fairly easy and level with one steep climb, but visitors can take trails that avoid the steep area.

Total Mileage: There are about 2.5 miles of trails circulating through the property. But visitors can create their own hikes — and lengths — with easy to follow maps at the start of the trails showcasing the distance of each segment.

Directions: I-95 to Route 12. Follow Route 12 north for several miles and take a right on Long Cove Road. Follow Long Cove Road until it intersects with Vinegar Hill Road. The entrance to the Nathan Lester House is across the street at 153 Vinegar Hill Road.

The house and barns are open to the public Memorial Day through Labor Day with visiting hours from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. They are also open year-round by appointment. There are no fees for tours, but donations are accepted.

A guided hike will take place during Connecticut Trails Weekend on June 1 at 10 a.m.

Parking: A large parking area.

Pet-friendly? Dogs need to be leashed and cleaned up after.

A hike with a history lesson or two describes a visit to Great Oak Park in Ledyard. The 110-acre park is home to several miles of trails through the woods that pass the remains of an historic 400-year-old oak tree once simply known as “The Ledyard Oak.” It is also home to the Nathan Lester House, an 18th-century farmhouse that is a museum for the Ledyard Historical Society, with the beautiful Great Oak Garden maintained by the Ledyard Garden Club, which includes a slab of dinosaur footprints between the house and the barns.

The house, built in 1793, was purchased by the town in 1967 and opened to the public in 1972. There are also several barns on the property that house a collection of old farm tools. A pair of sleds and a farm machine sit outside and seemed to welcome me during my visit.

Although the property is closed much of the year, the trails are open year-round. The hallmark of the property was the oak tree — at one time known as the state’s largest, and the second largest in the country. The tree died in 1969 after its leaves were devoured by gypsy moth caterpillars and never recovered. It was believed the tree was 400 years old.

An informational board close to where the tree once stood notes the history of the oak — known at different times as the “Lester Oak,” “Larrabee Oak” and “Graves Oak.” The tree was once 21 feet in circumference and 70 feet tall, with a crown spread of 105 feet. The tree was in the heart of Mashantucket Pequot territory. .

“There are tales that many important Indian councils were held here in the shade of this tree,” the sign noted.

With a total of nearly 2.5 miles of trails, visitors can make their own way around the heavily forested grounds of the park. The trail passes the remains of the great oak as well as an old cemetery, with several lonely gravestones and flags to mark the resting place of veterans. The trails run through the pastures, past vernal pools and along numerous ribbons of stone walls.

“It is well to know about and to protect such woodland giants,” the late E. Porter Felt wrote about the tree in a letter to the editor in the Hartford Courant in 1934. “They have an inspirational as well as a material valor.” And although the great oak is gone, its ghost remains in the name of a park that provides the town with its historic value.

Peter Marteka can be reached at pmarteka@courant.com.