and ecosystem of Farmington Mountain). Hill-Stead Hill-Stead, now a museum, was created on of Farmington Mountain as a country estate for wealthy industrialist Alfred Atmore Pope, to the designs of his daughter Theodate Pope Riddle in 1901. Theodate inherited the house after her parents deaths, and prior to her own passing in 1946 willed Hill-Stead Museum as a memorial to her parents. She directed that both house and its contents remain intact, not to be moved, lent, or sold. Hill-Stead comprises . Buildings include the Colonial-Revival style Pope-Riddle House; an 18th-century farm house; a carriage garage with an Arts and Crafts theater; and a barn and additional farm buildings. The house is extensively furnished with paintings, prints, and art. Highlights include works by Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, James McNeill Whistler, Albrecht Dürer and postcards including correspondence from Mary Cassatt, Henry James, and James McNeill Whistler. Recreation and conservation Both the Hill-Stead Museum and the town of Farmington manage networks of walking paths on the mountain. Farmington Mountain is also traversed by the Metacomet Trail, (maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association), which extends from the Hanging Hills of Meriden, Connecticut, to the Massachusetts border. The walking paths of Hill-Stead Museum, accessible at no charge from the museum parking lot, are open from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. Guidebooks are available. There is a charge for touring the museum, which is open May–October 10 am-5 pm and November–April: 11 am-4 pm. The Farmington Reservoir Trail, located on the southwest side of the mountain and managed by the town of Farmington, is open to hiking, bird watching, picnicking, snowshoeing, and other passive pursuits. The Metacomet Trail can be accessed from the same trailhead. The ecosystem and ridgeline of Farmington Mountain are most threatened by development. In 2000, Farmington Mountain was included in a study by the National Park Service for the designation of a new National Scenic Trail now tentatively called the New England National Scenic Trail, which would include the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in Massachusetts and the Mattabesett Trail and Metacomet Trail trails in Connecticut. The Farmington Land Trust is active in the conservation of Farmington Mountain and its viewshed. The trust has secured a number of easements on the lower slopes of the mountain and adjacent parts of Metacomet Ridge. See also Hill-Stead Museum Metacomet Ridge Metacomet Trail Adjacent summits: References External links Connecticut Forest and Park Association NPS brochure