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Tompkins County: Enfield

If you're barn afficionado, Enfield is the place for you. There are more than 130 barns in this town of all colors, shapes, and sizes. And with good reason, too. Enfield is predominately a farming community with roads named after settlers of the town--Bostwick, Harvey, and Van Dorn, to name a few--long vistas over rolling hills, and plowed soil that, when wet, will remind you of your favorite chocolate.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ENFIELD

Located in the western part of Tompkins County, Enfield was first settled in 1804 by John Giltner and Judah Baker. Like many of the towns in the region that are named after other places, it is thought that Enfield is named after Enfield, Connecticut, a town of about 45,000 located on the Connecticut River that was incorporated in 1683 and is the U. S. headquarters of the LEGO toy company.

Enfield, New York is roughly 6 mi./ 9.6 km. square and wasn't officially registered as a town until 1821. It's population has fluctuated over the centuries and today is about 3,500.

Hamlets

When first settled, residents of Enfield clustered in a number of hamlets with names like Millers Corners, Applegate Corners, Kennedy Corners, Black Oak Corners, Bostwick Corners, and Enfield Falls. The tree at Black Oak Corners was cut down in 1927 and, in general, very little remains today to remind people of these hamlets except roadside historical markers.

Enfield Falls had the most interesting history of all the hamlets because of its association with Enfield Creek, which eventually flows into Cayuga Lake. In 1935, the creek which runs through Enfield Glen, experienced a major flood. According to Eva Boberg Krayniak, who witnessed the flood from her childhood home on a hill overlooking the creek, the rushing water began tearing away at the creek bank. As more and more of the bank eroded, the water came closer and closer to a tractor parked nearby. Finally it too fell into the creek and went downstream. One of the residents, Mrs. LaBar, saw her store, house, and all the furnishings washed down the creek. "No trace was found of any of her furniture, even a piano," wrote Eva Krayniak. Some of Enfield Falls' history is preserved at Robert H. Treman State Park. (Learn more about Enfield Falls and Treman State Park)

Today, the major community center in the Town of Enfield is Enfield Center. Here you'll find the town's only school--Enfield Elemenatry--the community building, the Grange Hall, the First Baptist Church, a private residence that was once the Teeter Hotel, and the former United Methodist Church, which is now the McMillan Art Center. (Click on the brochure below to see the layout of the community and to read about significant buildings in the Town.)

RECREATION

Enfield is a great place for a pleasant drive and, in the spring views, across the rolling hills are long and lovely. A number of Enfield's roads (Van Dorn, Applegate, and Black Oak, for example) are traveled only by locals and, although they don't have paved shoulders, are fine biking roads. (Watch out for Bostwick Road, which is heavily trafficked and very steep.) The Finger Lakes Land Trust owns 83 acres accessed from State Route 327 called the Stevenson Preserve through which runs a small portion of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT). The preserve is especially nice in the spring when the glacial ponds are filled with water and the leaves are just coming out on the trees. You can spend hours there hiking and birding. The Finger Lakes Trail runs through much of the southern portion of the Town. You will need maps M-16 and M-17.

Six-tenths of a mile/one kilometer south of the Stevenson Preserve along the FLT is Riemen Woods, owned by the Cayuga Trails Club, which maintains the local section of the FLT. This 37-acre parcel of rolling woods on Porter Hill Road (south of the intersection of Rockwell Road) is covered with a variety of trees, including white oak, Scots pine, and Douglas and balsam fir. The spur trail through the parcel is dry and less than 1 mi./1.6 km. long but worth the walk.

If you like golfing, Enfield has just the ticket with an 18-hole, public golf course, however, the course does not permit cross-country skiing in the winter.

But the indisputable jewel in Enfield's crown is one of the Finger Lakes' most popular parks-- Robert H. Treman State Park. Centered around a spectacular gorge called Enfield Glen, through which runs Enfield Creek, the park provides may opportunities for hiking, camping, picnicking, and swimming. In all, the glen has 12 waterfalls, including Lucifer Falls with its 115-ft./35-m. drop. The woods in the park abound with native wildflowers and wildlife. Photo ops are everywhere. The old gristmill, a remnant of the days when the hamlet of Enfield Falls was a vibrant community, is open to the public.

Brochure (pdf) (best if printed on 8.5" x 14" paper)

Tourism Information

Town of Enfield

Town Hall

168 Enfield Main Rd.

Ithaca, NY 14850

607-273-8256

Ithaca/Tompkins County Convention & Visitors Bureau

904 E. Shore Dr.

Ithaca, NY 14850

800-284-4222

GPS Coordinates

42.267°N 76.373°W

Topo Map

Accommodations in Enfield

The Noble House Farm

215 Connecticut Hill Rd.

Newfield, NY 14867

607-277-4798

Robert H. Treman State Park

105 Enfield Falls Rd. (Rt. 327)

Ithaca, NY 14850

607-273-3440

A Touch of Country Bed & Breakfast

119 Enfield Main Rd.

Ithaca, NY 14850

607-272-9435

Arts & Entertainment

See Tompkins County

Recreational Activities

Restaurants and Pubs

See Tompkins County

Transportation

See Tompkins County

Local Businesses

Hillendale Golf Course

218 N. Applegate Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-273-2363

Kumu Adult Entertainment

2303 Mecklenburg Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-277-1800

McMillan Art Center

7 Enfield Center Rd. W., Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-330-1892

Natural Beginnings Garden Boutique and Gift Shop

1603 Trumansburg Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-256-1730

Storm Country Antiques

1687 Mecklenburg Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-272-1172