Local lore: A visit to the "den" of Will Warren, one of Farmington's own colorful characters!

Portions of Farmington’s history are fanciful; elements of truth are always found within the traditional tales of a locale. Such is the story of Will Warren. A brief reference to Will appears in Andrews’ History of New Britain but the full legend was written down for perhaps the first time in the 1906 Green Book.  

Will was said to have been an odd character whose various offenses included skipping church and fishing on the Sabbath. In response to his unconventional behavior, the village of Farmington subjected him to a public whipping. In a burst of incendiary vengeance, Will is said to have set the village on fire. The conflagration offered him the chance to flee to a cave on top of Rattlesnake Mountain. There, legend says he lived  out the  rest of  his days as a “hermit”, foraging down into town from time to time to steal sheep.  

The cave is actually a cavity beneath huge tumbled trap rock boulders, and certainly could have sheltered an outcast like Will. It is high on the rocky ridge, near the TV towers and on the Blue Trail. For generations, it has been the goal of youngsters and their elders to explore the rocky oak woodland of the ridge.  

Though Will Warren may be partly legend, his cave is definitely still there up on the mountain. The Den and 7.2 acres was donated to the Town of Farmington in 1987 by William Wadsworth, and is further protected by the Farmington Land Trust’s conservation easement. Will and his Den are very much part of our local story and if he did not really exist, he probably should have.  History courtesy of Farmington Land Trust Board Member Dr. Charles Leach and Farmington, Connecticut, The Village of Beautiful Homes, Robert Brandegee,1906.

A hike to Will Warren’s Den is the next offering for The Farmington Land Trust’s “Stroll on the Land" series. Led by Land Trust Board Member Bill Novoa, this is the second of four outdoor experiences sponsored by the Land Trust. This event will take place on the Wadsworth Memorial parcel and includes a hike up Rattlesnake Mountain to the notorious den of the legendary Will Warren. 

Scheduled for Thursday, June 28th, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, this two mile round-trip includes a strenuous climb with some rock scrambling at the top. The journey is definitely worth the trip though, with scenic views on the way up and an overlook at cliff top that offers magnificent vistas of Hartford on one side and the northwest hills and the Berkshires on the other.

For more informaiton contact: Suzan Scott at The Farmington Land Trust, 128 Garden Street,, Farmington, CT 06032