This year will mark the 60th anniversary of day camping at YMCA Camp Sloper. In celebration of this milestone, we are taking a look back at where it all started, and how we got to where we are today thanks to many hardworking staff and volunteers who have so consistently contributed their funds, time and talent over the years, and of course, one very generous gift from Cornelia Sloper Neal that started it all in 1949.
Through a series of articles published throughout the upcoming months, we will trace the transformation of the Sloper family property from the pre-camp days, through its development as a day camp, and right up to this special 60th anniversary year in 2009. We begin with the pre-camp years when YMCA Camp Sloper was known for being a dairy farm, cement mill, local ice house and more.
Robert Sloper, of Branford, received a state land grant of a property in Southington in a fertile rolling valley blessed with good farmland and a small flowing stream known as Misery Brook. He moved his family to Southington in 1730 and his son, Capt. Ambrose Sloper, later built the present Sloper House in 1760. Capt. Ambrose Sloper, great-grandfather of Cornelia Sloper Neal, lived to be 89 years of age, outliving his son, Ambrose Sloper. Thus the property was left to his grandson, David Root Sloper, who was Cornelia Sloper Neal’s father.
In the course of its history, the Sloper farm property was an active place. In early times, it was a dairy farm operated by Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Neal until the untimely death of Mr. Neal. It was then run by William Orr until his death, and, subsequently, used by the Pocock family until about 1960.
Three businesses, in particular, thrived on the Sloper property prior to it becoming the successful camp we know today. In 1823, a special kind of limestone that would harden underwater was found on the Luman Andrews farm northeast of Sloper Pond. This limestone was in demand for masonry construction, including the Farmington Canal, bridges, dams, and buildings constructed near water. Credit is given to Anson Merriman for realizing the limestone could be manufactured, but the theory was acted upon by Gad Andrews who constructed a kiln which could hold three bushels of stone; two other refining kilns would follow. The stone was thoroughly burned, and, when ready, was transported by horse and oxen drawn wagons to David Sloper’s grinding mill, where it was mixed with sand and water for use as cement. The manufacturing process required water to turn the grinding wheels, and the small pond on the other side of Kensington Road, currently known as Jacob Pond, was the source of power. However, the cost of transporting the cement, and competition, brought the eventual demise of the business.
Another successful business run on the Sloper property was a cooperative creamery formed by area farmers to make superior quality butter, which was in great demand at fine hotels in New York City. The butter produced was of such fine quality that it brought a price of one dollar a pound, a lot of money for the time. A Swiss butter maker was specially hired to oversee production, but when he left, quality fell. The business became unprofitable and closed in 1890.
A flourishing ice business was started around 1900 by William Orr, manager of Sloper Farm and brother-in-law of Cornelia Sloper Neal. At this time, Orr constructed a dam to increase the size and depth of Sloper Pond. In 1905, the business was sold to John Jamieson and run by him until the late 1930s when there was a decline in the demand for ice after electric refrigeration came into general use. Many older folks can recollect the ice man or Miss Lottie Jamieson; what fun it was to watch her score off a block of ice and scurry for the chips as they fell, especially enjoyable on a hot summer day. She would then use giant tongs to carry the blocks into customers’ homes. We were told by Russell Andres, a lifelong resident of Southington who spent his boyhood on East Street, that in his memory there were two large barns, larger than the existing Red Barn, which housed the ice harvest, and also a smaller crib which held the ice that would be sold first. The ice harvest would be packed tightly in sawdust and could be kept in this manner during the warm weather months.
Capt. Ambrose Sloper, Cornelia Sloper Neal’s great-grandfather, purchased the “handsome property” which he left to his grandson, David R. Sloper, upon his death in 1822. David R. Sloper, a farmer by occupation and a former cement manufacturer, was Cornelia’s father. He was widowed when his first wife, Augusta E. Sloper died, and took Eliza Woodruff for his second wife. Cornelia, along with her brother, Ambrose, from their father’s first marriage, and her two sisters, Mary and Julia, was raised on the farm in a house their great-grandfather built there in 1760. Cornelia’s sister, Julia, later married William Orr who managed the farm for many years. After William’s death, the farm was worked by the Pocock family who also worked land further north on East Street. Three generations of the family grew corn and grain, and pastured cows on the Sloper property, and they managed the land so well that they were permitted to use it without charge.
Upon her death in 1949, Cornelia Sloper Neal, referred to as “Aunt Nellie” by those who knew her well, willed to the Southington YMCA 142.5 acres of land which comprised her family farm, the family homestead and barns. She gave it in loving memory of her parents, Augusta E. Sloper and David Root Sloper, her brother, Ambrose, and her two sisters, Mary and Julia. Furnishings left as part of the estate were auctioned off, and the proceeds helped fund necessary updating of the old family home. Cornelia Sloper Neal was laid to rest in Oak Hill Cemetery with her husband and daughter. Her grave is marked and remembered by the YMCA. Cornelia Sloper Neal gave the YMCA a wonderful gift when she willed her property to the YMCA. In her will she wrote, “It is my will, that said farm with pond thereon, shall be developed for and used as a campsite, and for water sports and for promoting similar outdoor health activities for the largest number of young men and women possible.” Beginning immediately in 1950, a day camp was established. The YMCA committed to sharing this valuable community resource with as many people as possible. In the next article, we will see how it all began. There would be no YMCA Camp Sloper if it were not for the foresight and generosity of Cornelia Sloper Neal.