Mr. and Mrs. Allan Farrand Kitchel donated twenty-one different species of holly to the town in 1959 in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary. In 2016, the Friends of Greenwich Point, in celebration of their 60th anniversary, began working with the town to restore the Holly Grove. In addition to clearing brush, trimming trees, and planting new hollies, they rebuilt the entrance post with a new sign befitting Helen Binney Kitchel, who was instrumental in the formation of the group’s forerunner, the Greenwich Point Committee. The Friends are faithful stewards of the Point’s diverse natural environments and beauty. They are committed to safe and appropriate recreational use of the Point and the maintenance of its facilities.
In 1931, at the age 41, Mrs. Kitchel, a daughter of the inventor of Crayola crayons Edwin Binney and his wife, Alice, entered poitics. She served four consecutive terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1931 to 1939. In addition to her tireless fight against commercial blight along Connecticut’s highways and byways, she donated most of Algonquin State Forest in Colebrook, CT, to the state starting in 1963. Her family had begun buying acreage in the area in 1926. The “Kitchel Wilderness” is an almost 600-acre state-designated Natural Area Preserve that is forever protected from logging.
To the left of the Grove, you will find a steep and uneven path leading to Founders’ Rock. We have not included that site on the tour for several reasons. First, Founders Feake and Patrick did not land on this rock. Second, the rock was moved from the shore to the hilltop as a memorial to Mr. Tod after his death. Third, while the plaque commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding remains affixed to the boulder, we feature the 375th commemorative plaque at the last stop of the tour.