Norwich ― Meandering through the Uncas Leap Heritage Park, dozens of guests at its grand opening on Friday recalled how a year ago the site was overgrown and neglected.

That did not stop people from coming to the Yantic River at Uncas Leap to view the dramatic natural rocky gorge, hear the rushing waterfall and imagine the industrial mills that once lined its banks.

A $3 million park, with an amphitheater, paths, preserved granite mill ruins, restrooms and overlooks now invite visitors to the site with 400 years of history.

More than 100 people gathered in a light drizzle Friday morning to celebrate the grand opening and the federal American Rescue Plan Act funding that made it possible. For 15 years before that funding, city planners and a volunteer steering committee had hoped to secure small grants over time to complete portions of the project.

“We never could have done it $100,000 at a time,” city Planning Director Deanna Rhodes admitted Friday.

Neighbor Bill Mitchell pointed out his condominium on a display with a historic photo of the Falls Mill, now a condominium development, adjacent to the new park. Several residents attended Friday’s event and said they had walked the site when it was a mud pit and gravel lot.

“I can’t believe it’s done,” Mitchell’s wife, Sue Austin said. The couple has lived in the mill for four years.

Jane Smith, a 22-year resident, said she remembered when the granite mill housed Artform, a small manufacturing plant.

“This is a really wonderful improvement,” Smith said. “This is so nice.”

“That little overlook there is going to be so gorgeous,” Mitchell added, pointing to a cordoned off area at the side of the dam, where a stairway will lead to an observation platform. It’s part of the 10% of the project not yet completed, contractor Mel Wiese said.

Smith said she looks forward to standing there in winter when the spray from the falls coats the rocks and trees with ice. She said it looks like “sparkling diamonds” when the sun hits it.

“Years and years of history and hard work have brought us to this moment,” Kevin Brown, president of the Norwich Community Development Corp and a Mohegan tribal member, said at the start of Friday’s ceremony.

“We celebrate our Mohegan heritage, and rightly so,” Brown continued, “but there are so many other layers of people and community and heritage and history of this community that blended our Mohegan tribe with the settlers of Norwich.”

Information placards describe the 1643 battle between the Mohegan and Narragansett tribes, the legend of Mohegan Sachem Uncas leaping across the gorge, industrial enterprises powered by the water, and worker housing that still stands.

That history wasn’t always pleasant, Brown said. When Uncas deeded a nine-square-mile area to the settlers in 1659, the 16 acres encompassing the falls and the tribe’s royal burial ground were to have remained in tribal hands.

Brown recounted failed efforts by the tribe to get it back, including petitions to King George II in 1743, and to the state of Connecticut in 1899. In 1999, the Mohegans finally were able to purchase the former Masonic Temple and restore a portion of the burial ground.

“We’re getting our land back,” Brown said, referring not to ownership but to preservation of the tribe’s history at its sacred site.

Mayor Peter Nystrom credited City Manager John Salomone and Rhodes for making the Uncas Leap park a top priority for the city’s $28 million ARPA grant. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., agreed with the city’s goal to see Uncas Leap named a national historic park.

“Not just for the benefit of Norwich and Connecticut, but the whole nation,” Blumenthal said. “It is truly a national treasure, a gem for the people of America.”

Friday’s ceremony, held on the start of Native American Heritage Month, started off with Mohegan drummers in the 100-seat stone amphitheater.

Alison Corbin, Mohegan language teacher, offered a blessing first in Mohegan and then in English following a moment of silence for those who have passed.

Among those honored was former NCDC President Jason Vincent, who died in late December 2021. Vincent previously was a planning consultant who worked on the park project.

Current and past city and tribal leaders gathered around a tall park entrance display panel covered with a Mohegan ceremonial blanket. Brown untied the cord that held the blanket in place, and others lifted it off.

“Kuwuvee Puyomuw / Welcome to Uncas Leap Heritage Park,” the top states. A long narrative accompanied by historic photos, maps and illustrations are featured on the display panel.

“This feels enormously satisfying,” said William Block, the city’s retired purchasing agent.

c.bessette@theday.com