The preserve's name derives from local lore: charcoal makers in the hilly, rocky area would say that a hoof-like mark made in a boulder was the footprint of the Devil.
[2] Flora and fauna in the preserve include more than 500 types of trees and wildflowers, the pink lady's slipper, cardinal flower, and Indian pipe, such animals as red fox, bobcat, coyote, and eastern copperhead snake, and more than 140 bird species, including wood duck, ruffed grouse, and pileated woodpecker.
A sawmill was once located below Godfrey Pond in the preserve, a part of the area's history as a lumbering and charcoal-burning center, especially during the 19th century.
[2] From April 25 to April 27, 1777, residents of Redding and Weston were thought to have taken refuge in the Devil's Den to escape harassment by a column of British troops marching north from Long Island Sound to destroy a military supply depot in Danbury, Connecticut.
[3] The park was founded by Katharine Ordway, who bought 1,100 acres (4.5 km2) from the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company in 1966 and added more land to the original purchase from 1966 to 1968.