Before the land on and around Sleeping Giant became a state park, it was held in private ownership with plots both humble and grand.
One such holding, purchased around 1903, was a farm of over 300 acres on both sides of Mt. Carmel Avenue owned by Colonel Phelps Montgomery of New Haven.
The Mountain Glen Farm was conveniently located near highway, rail, and trolley. Here, Montgomery raised corn and other crops, bred fine horses and Holstein cattle, and held steeplechase races on the flat land now studded with buildings of Quinnipiac University.
In 1912, as a ranking officer of the 2nd Governor’s Horse Guard, he provided space for their bivouac.
There’s a terrific poster of an advert for one of the steeplechase events at the Hamden Historical Society, as well as other information about the farm. Should anyone have ‘memorabilia’ or memories to ‘show and tell’, the History Room at Miller Library will re-open in September (Tuesdays, 10-11:30; Thursdays, 1-3:30). Love the stories!
