In 1870, Theodore S. Gold purchased a 12 acre plot of white pine and hemlock near West Cornwall. The small forest was eventually expanded to 42 acres and became known as Gold’s Pines; today it encompasses a total of 56 acres. The original Gold stand of trees is estimated to be about 192 years old.

Gold’s Pines was selected by the State Forester in 1932 for a study of the impact of partial thinning on a mature forest. In 1941, Gold’s Pines was acquired by Connecticut and became part of Housatonic State Forest. At the time, it was considered the second best stand of pine in the state, after Cathedral Pines.

Fourteen acres of Gold’s Pines was designated a Natural Area Preserve in 2000, recognized for the uniqueness of the large, mature pine trees. It is one of a small number of surviving “old growth” forests in Connecticut and is home to Connecticut’s tallest tree, an Eastern White Pine last measured at 158 feet in height.

Gold’s Pines is managed by the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Forestry Division. The draft of a new management plan was issued in April 2012.

Access to Gold’s Pines is located on Route 128, to the right of the Little Guild of St. Francis animal shelter.