Acting for the state, Westport farmer and public citizen William H. Burr Jr., who led the fight to create the park, bought two small parcels in 1914, including a 5 acres strip of beachfront, Connecticut Impressionist Art Trail sign at east end of pavilion at Sherwood Island State Park, read on November 17, 2007 giving Sherwood Island its designation as Connecticut’s first state park, although it took another two decades for the park to be widely used.