Durham, Connecticut

Coginchaug is an area within the current United States town of Durham, Connecticut. It is largely a swampy, low-lying region of the town, drained by the Coginchaug River and its tributaries.

The Main Street Historic District encompasses the historic civic, commercial, and residential center of Durham, Connecticut. The district is primarily linear and runs along Main Street (Route 17) from between Higganum Road and Town House Road in the south to Talcott Lane in the north, and along Maple Avenue, which parallels Main Street. The district includes most of its colonial architecture, as well as many of its civic buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

The Durham Fair, held in Durham, Connecticut, is one of the largest agricultural fairs in New England and was first held in 1916. The four-day event takes place during the last full weekend of September. Activities include livestock and competitive exhibits, pulling contests, craft and commercial tents, various forms of entertainment and a carnival midway. The fairgrounds accommodate both permanent buildings for commercial and agricultural exhibits and space for tents and other non-permanent structures to be brought in each year. Past entertainers on the main stage have included Blake Shelton, Pat Benatar, Justin Moore, George Jones, SHeDAISY, Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn, 38 Special, Charlie Daniels, Phil Vassar, The Guess Who, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Blues Traveler, and KC and the Sunshine Band. The Durham Fair is staffed entirely by volunteers; in fact, it is the second largest fair in North America without paid management or employees. In addition to the members of the Durham Agricultural Fair Association and other volunteers, local organizations such as schools, churches, clubs, civic groups, and more, participate in the fair to help raise funds for their organizations. There was no fair in 1917–18, 1942–45 & 2020.

Durham is a census-designated place (CDP) comprising the primary village and surrounding development in the town of Durham, Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. It is in the central and northeastern portions of the town, bordered to the north by the town of Middlefield and the city of Middletown. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 3,771, out of 7,152 in the entire town of Durham. The Main Street Historic District occupies 160 acres (0.65 km2) at the center of the community.

Coginchaug Regional High School (abbreviated as C.R.H.S.) is a public high school located in Durham, Connecticut and is named after the Coginchaug River. It is part of Regional School District #13, which encompasses the communities of Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall, Connecticut. Coginchaug is attended by students in grades 9 through 12.

The Mattabesett Trail is a 62-mile (100 km) long, hook-shaped blue-blazed hiking trail in central Connecticut and a part of the New England National Scenic Trail. One half of the trail follows the high traprock ridges of the Metacomet Ridge, from Totoket Mountain in Guilford, Connecticut, to Lamentation Mountain in Meriden, Connecticut, from south to north. This ridge is known for its biodiversity, miles of scenic cliffs, and rugged hiking. The second half of the trail extends north from Guilford to Middletown, Connecticut, and ends at the Connecticut River. Here, the trail follows an upland of metamorphic rock with occasional views and dense forests. Important features along the trail include Lamentation Mountain, Chauncey Peak, Higby Mountain, Besek Mountain, Fowler Mountain, Trimountain, Pistapaug Mountain, Totoket Mountain, the Broomstick Ledges, Seven Falls, and Coginchaug Cave. The Metacomet Trail continues north from Lamentation Mountain where the Mattabesett Trail leaves off. The geology, ecology, and landscape of the trail are similar to that of the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail to the north in Massachusetts. In 2000, the United States Congress authorized the National Park Service to research a new National Scenic Trail now called the New England National Scenic Trail in southern New England, which includes the Mattabesett Trail as well as the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and the Metacomet Trail. On March 30, 2009 President Barack Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 establishing the New England National Scenic Trail (and two other national scenic trails).The combination of the Metacomet, Monadnock and Mattabesett trails is also often referred to as the 3-M, MMM or Metacomet-Monadnock-Mattabesett trail. The New England National Scenic Trail will eventually include all or almost all of the MMM trails as well as a proposed extension trail from the southernmost point on the Mattabesett Trail through Guilford, Connecticut to the northern shore of Long Island Sound.

The Thomas Lyman House is a historic house at 105 Middlefield Road in Durham, Connecticut. Built about 1774, it is a well-preserved example of late Colonial architecture, regionally unusual for its hip roof. The 1-acre (0.40 ha) property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

The David Lyman II House, also known as the Lyman Homestead, is a historic house at 5 Lyman Road in Middlefield, Connecticut. Built around 1860, it is among the best Gothic Revival structures in the greater Middletown area. The house is built in part on the foundation of a 1785 house that originally stood on the site. The 2-acre (0.81 ha) property containing the house and its outbuildings was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Totoket Mountain, with a high point of (est.) 720 ft (220 m) above sea level, is a traprock massif with several distinct summits, located 7 mi (11 km) northeast of New Haven, Connecticut. It is part of the Metacomet Ridge that extends from the Long Island Sound near New Haven, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the Vermont border. Totoket Mountain is known for its 500 ft-high (150 m) scenic cliffs, microclimate ecosystems, rare plant communities, and for Lake Gaillard, a 2.5 mi-wide (4.0 km) public reservoir nearly enclosed by the mountain. The north ridge of Totoket Mountain is traversed by the 50 mi (80 km) Mattabesett Trail and a significant network of shorter trails. The name "Totoket Mountain" applies to both the entire mountain and to a subordinate northwestern peak (577 ft or 176 m).

Millers Pond State Park is a public recreation area lying adjacent to Cockaponset State Forest in the towns of Durham and Haddam, Connecticut. The park's central feature is 33-acre (13 ha) Millers Pond, whose principal source of water is large springs that create a body of unpolluted water excellent for trout and smallmouth bass. The park offers fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and hunting.

The William Ward Jr. House is a historic house at 137 Powder Hill Road in Middlefield, Connecticut. Built in 1742, it is the oldest surviving house in Middlefield. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.