ASH CREEK OPEN SPACE
Fairfield, Connecticut


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The Conservation Commission wishes to thank the citizens of Fairfield whose interest, support, funding and labor, made this open space restoration possible


What's in a Name?
The origin of the name "Ash Creek" is not known for certain. Early Colonial and British maps show the creek as the Uncoway or Fairfield River. Later records refer to Ash Creek as Ash House Creek, perhaps alluding to the presence of an ash house, for lye-making, on its banks. The most likely source of the present name was the British invasion and burning of the Town which left the creek, and the entire town center, covered with ashes.


An Active Port
As you walk the trails at Ash Creek Open Space you follow the footsteps of many Fairfielders. Some sailed in and out of the creek when it was a thriving harbor, some brought wheat and other grains to the creek's grist mills, and some travelled from the open space across an old road to Black Rock.

For more than a hundred years after Roger Ludlow's settlement of Fairfield in 1639, Ash Creek was the Town's main harbor. The water provided a good supply of fish and shellfish and the salt marshes, which surrounded the harbor, provided pasture land for horses and cattle.

When Fairfield reached a population of 4,500, in 1750, Mr. Peter Penfield constructed grist mills on either side of the creek by damming both sides of the river to Great Marsh Island. The mills, like others in Town, became centers of activity, supplying vital foodstuffs to the townspeople.

At practically the same time the Penfield Mills were built, Fairfielders constructed a short cut to Black Rock -- a wooden corduroy road and bridge which connected an old town road on the Ash Creek Open Space with Balmforth Street in Black Rock. Many a resident helped build the bridge since the Town levied a tax for either labor or money for public works projects.

Owing in part to this new bridge, wharves, stores, and residences grew quickly in Black Rock which soon replaced Ash Creek as Fairfield's main port. By 1790, due to its considerable depth, Black Rock Harbor had become the official port of entry for Fairfield County and a lively international port and boat building center. The bridge which helped spark this activity was destroyed in 1802 but its sturdy remains rest along the marsh's edge for all to see.

Also in 1790, the Town offered 90 English pounds to Mr. Penfield to remove his dams and allow the re-entry of eels, clams and shad which were vanishing from the creek. He refused the offer and the tidal flow of Ash Creek continued to fuel the mills until the 1840's. As you walk the marsh trail at low tide you will see some of the old dam stones on the western side of Great Marsh Island.

In 1848, the railroad began to bring into Fairfield people who looked to the marshes for recreation, not farming. In 1870, under the direction of the Village Improvement Society, and again, in 1911, led by Colonel Valery Harvad, who served in the malaria-ridden Spanish American War, Fairfield began a marsh drainage campaign to eliminate mosquitoes. These and more recently constructed mosquito ditches still crisscross the Ash Creek Marshes.

The area immediately surrounding Ash Creek Open Space was laid out for development by a 1917 subdivision plan with 255 lots. The house sites would become homes for many workers in the busy Bridgeport munitions industry.

Since 1973 the Ash Creek Open Space has served as a site for environmental education. Fifth Graders in Fairfield Public Schools visit each autumn with trained volunteer guides from the Mill River Wetland Study Group as part of the River Lab Estuary Science curriculum.


Salt Marshes, Meadow, and Woods
Surrounding the Ash Creek Playground is a colorful field of grasses and wildflowers. It was planted by the Conservation Department in 1983 on the soil dredged from the marina. Some of the flowers, such as yellow goldenrod, white yarrow, and purple vetch may be familiar to you, but others are ornamental varieties which will undoubtedly be new.

Maples, willows, black cherry trees, and locust cover the field's periphery. At the end of the field, a left turn takes you along the 1957 flood control berm to the Riverside Drive entrance where you can watch the water flow through the tidal gates. A right turn at the end of the field leads to the marsh.

At first glance, Ash Creek Marsh may look pretty homogenous, but more careful investigation will show distinct zones of vegetation. These zones are your first clues to water depth.

In infrequently flooded areas, you will see the common reed and high tide bush, a shrub with fleshy leaves. Closer to the creek, salt hay forms cowlicks blown in every direction and is often mixed with spike grass. In still more frequently submerged areas, look for the colorful branching sea lavender (whose flowers are often dried and used by florists) as well as bright green, jointed glassworts and salt marsh aster. Closest to the water, tail salt water cordgrass, a relative of marsh hay, is the most common plant.

As you walk the marsh path, can you tell by the vegetation which sections of the marsh are periodically covered by water? A good place to observe these vegetational differences is along the old mosquito ditches from atop the berm to Riverside Drive.

A spur path from the playground and picnic area takes you out on a peninsula
alongside the marina. Boulders on either side of the peninsula are good spots to find brown seaweeds.

The Town of Fairfield is trying to restore this land to its earlier condition as a historic mill site with an orchard, meadow, woodlot and marsh so visitors can enjoy the diverse cultural, historic and ecological riches which were formerly balanced on the site.


Alive with Animals
The Ash Creek estuary is a lively place indeed! On any given day you are bound to be treated to a glimpse of its many inhabitants. . .if you look carefully. Low tide brings out the best.

Along the marsh trail you will find an army of fiddier crabs scavenging for food which includes both plant and animal remains. Also look for the broken shells of mussels which live with barnacles on the rocky jetty alongside the marina and clams and oysters.

The salt marshes draw a crowd of fish, both big and small. If you happen to walk the trail as the tide is rising, look for minnows, mummichugs and killifish. These fish and the marsh grasses are food for a variety of larger fish as well. Several of the popular recreational and corrunercial species, including winter flounder and bluefish, breed and spend their early lives in these protective food-filled marshes .

Land animals, such as raccoons, opposums and many marsh birds also benefit from the rich produce of the marsh, feeding on clams, crustaceans, and fish, as well as the roots of plants. Several of their burrows are visible in the banks of the upland slope.

Black cherry trees along the upland ridge are perfect roosting spots for herons. Many of the mussel and clam shells on the marsh trail are dropped by these birds from their perches.

Other conspicuous avian inhabitants are the marsh wrens, which dart among the grasses and eat their seeds, and the brilliant blue and white kingfisher which skillfully nose-dives into the water after fish and makes its home in tbe sandy hillside.

The upland field, with its mixture of grasses, colorful flowers and young fruit trees, is a good place to spot robins, thrushes and a variety of other songbirds. Don't be surprised to find an occasional marsh hawk circling overhead or to see and hear a pheasant which lives on the edges of the field and woods. Come sumrner, when the field is abloom, you'll undoubtedly see a number of familiar insects as well, including buttefflies, moths, and dragonflies.


Changing Landscape
The Town began acquiring Ash Creek Open Space in 1931 when it took ownership of the old highway along the water and the property which is now the northern part of the marina. Since then, there has been a constant question over the value of the marshes and what to do with the land.

Over the past 70 years, more than half of the tidal marshes in Connecticut have been destroyed either by dredging material out to make marinas or filling them in for beaches and building sites. The Ash Creek Open Space was no exception. An earthen dike constructed in 1957 reduced the threat of floods to neighborhood houses, but it decreased tidal flow and encouraged the spread of reeds instead of marsh vegetation in the western section of the creek. The reeds present a considerable fire hazard each fall and winter. In 1964 part of the formerly expansive marsh was also destroyed when the Town constructed a marina. Even more could have been lost had the Town followed a 1951 plan which called for the damming of Ash Creek from Fairfield to Black Rock to create a "safe inland boating and recreation area."

At a very slow pace, marshes can reform given proper water levels. In deep shore areas, as silt and old leaves are deposited by wind and water, certain areas become shallow enough for saltwater cordgrass to expand. You can see a hint of this process near the old bridge site where marsh vegetation covers part of the old corduroy road.


Ash Creek Facilities
Ash Creek Open Space, owned by the Town of Fairfield and managed by the Town Conservation Commission, is located off Riverside Drive and Turney Road.

Nature trails at Ash Creek cross through a field of wildflowers and allow visitors to explore the salt marsh, investigate local history and walk out on a peninsula alongside the boat marina where they can fish in the creek or simply watch the boats.

Picnic tables and a barbecue overlook the Sound and Great Marsh Island in Ash Creek, and a playground provides recreational opportunities for children.

If you drive to Ash Creek Open Space, there is plenty of parking; beach stickers are not required for entrance. There is also a pedestrian access on Riverside Drive.


Regulations
Please follow posted regulations and be considerate of other visitors. In particular, do not pick the wildflowers; leave them for others to see. Each flower blossom carries the seeds for next year's flowers and represents an investment in the future.


Acknowledgements
Ash Creek Open Space was purchased by the Town of Fairfield with assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the State of Connecticut.

Site restoration work has been funded by the Fairfield Commununity Development Commission.

For further information, phone the Conservation Department at 256-3071.