|
|
|
|||||||
|
Essex and Old Lyme By Nancy and Richard Woodworth Nearing the sea after lazing 400 miles through four states, the Connecticut River wends and weaves between forested hillsides and sandy shores. Finally it pauses, almost delta-like, in the sheltered coves and harbors of Essex and Old Lyme before emptying into Long Island Sound. A sand bar blocked the kind of development that has urbanized other rivers where they meet the ocean. Indeed, the Connecticut is the nation's biggest without a major city at its mouth. It is in this tranquil setting that Essex was settled in 1635, its harbor a haven for shipbuilding in the past and for yachting these days. From Essex the first American warship, the Oliver Cromwell, was launched in time for the Revolution. From Essex, leading yachtsmen sail the Atlantic today. Touted by the New Yorker magazine as "a mint-condition 18th century town," Essex relives its past in the Connecticut River Museum at Steamboat Dock, in the boatworks and yacht clubs along its harbor, in the lively Tap Room at the Griswold Inn, in the lovely old homes along Main Street and River Road. Across the river from Essex is Old Lyme, which has less of a river feel but exudes a charm of its own. In a pastoral area that is now part of an historic district, artists gathered at the turn of the century in the mansion of Florence Griswold, daughter of a boat captain. The American Impressionist movement was the result, and the arts are celebrated and flourish here to this day. Just inland from historic Essex along the Falls River are Centerbrook and Ivoryton. They and Old Lyme provide a setting in which fine inns and restaurants thrive. Up river are Deep River, Chester, Hadlyme and East Haddam, unspoiled towns steeped in history. You still have to drive the long way around to get from one side of the river to the other, unless you take the tiny ferry that has been plying between Chester and Hadlyme for 200 years. The Valley Railroad's steam train and riverboat link the towns as in the past, offering visitors scenic ways to see both river and shore. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places in New England, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2004. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
page |
Full destination index | |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
