A long dirt drive leads to the Edwin Way Teale home in Hampton.
A long dirt drive to the Edwin Way Teale house, in Hampton, is just as it was in 1959 when the naturalist writer and his wife, Nellie, bought the place.
The 1806 cape is a modest home. The first floor is mostly living room with stone hearth where a wood stove now sits. A study in the northeast corner remains as it was when Teale was alive. Artwork celebrating nature hangs on the walls. There is a picture of the Teale’s only son, David, who was killed in WWII. A big desk – the site of Teale’s work – occupies a central spot. He wrote 30 books, 10 at Trail Wood.
Wandering Through Winter won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction in 1966.
Bookshelves line the walls. There are nature and reference guides, identification books for mammals, birds, insects, trees and flowers. Teale was consumed with writing about the natural world. And while he wrote in the study, his real office was outdoors. The farmhouse sat on 130 acres and the Teales spent most of their time walking the land. They noted the passing of the seasons, the migrations of the birds, the habits of the beaver and fox and coyote.
The Teales donated the property to the Connecticut Audubon Society and the nonprofit took ownership in 1993 after Nellie’s death. The original 130 acres became 158 acres with an additional donation. And now Connecticut Audubon is in the process of restoring the home. The work is being done in a manner consistent with the maintenance of a state historic landmark, which the property is. The Connecticut Audubon Society is grateful for the support of the 1772 Foundation and the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, and the grant funds that jump started the work.
The 1:1 matching grant of $15,000 has put a new roof on the house. The exterior received a new coat of paint thanks to volunteers. After raising donations from the community, windows are being stripped, glazed, primed and painted. Rodent resistant insulation is being put in the walls and ceilings. The chimney was repointed. Plans are also in the works to get an energy efficient heating and cooling system installed.
The 1772 Foundation and the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation are supporting work on the Edwin Way Teale home in Hampton.
Volunteers Barry Davis and Jack Camp scraped, primed and painted the exterior of the Teale home this past summer.
And it will ensure the Teale’s legacy of environmental appreciation and protection continues. The home has played host to more than 30 artists during a summer artist-in-residence program that began in 2012. Writers, poets, photographers and painters have used the home to work on projects that celebrate the natural world.
Which is another reason for keeping the home as it was when the Teales lived there.
For more information on Trail Wood go to www.ctaudubon.org/trailwood-wood-home. Applications for the artist-in-residence program can be found there. The deadline for submission is March 15.