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Old Saybrook
Cornfield Point: Old Saybrook’s Forgotten Scenic Alcove
Cornfield Point, a rocky scenic area bordering the Long Island Sound, is often overlooked but is significant in the state’s maritime and prohibition histories.
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David Bushnell and his Revolutionary Submarine
How a farmer’s son became the Father of Submarine Warfare during the American Revolution.
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Children of the Reconcentrados: Caroline Selden’s Cuban School
During the Cuban War of Independence, Caroline Selden opened a school for Cuban children in Brooklyn, NY and Old Saybrook, CT.
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Helen James Chisholm: A Hartford Teacher in Hawaii
Originally from Hartford, Helen James Chisholm’s career took her all the way to the Pacific to teach and run an orphanage.
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Ann Petry: Old Saybrook’s Bestselling African American Author
Living most of her life in Old Saybrook, Ann Petry was the first African American woman to sell over one million copies of a book with her first novel, The Street.
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Old Saybrook Faces Down Threats to Its Water Supply
Shallow waterways and shifting sandbars made water navigation hazardous and prevented Old Saybrook from ever becoming a major port city.
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The Turtle Submarine – Today in History: September 6
On September 6, 1776, the first functioning submarine, called the Turtle, attacked the HMS Eagle anchored in New York Harbor.
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The Importance of Being Puritan: Church and State in Colonial Connecticut
Connecticut Protestants wanted to cleanse the church of what they saw as corruption, and to return to the simplicity and purity of early Christian worship.
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An Old Saybrook Borough has a Stately History
The Borough of Fenwick, a well-known summer community in Old Saybrook, is named for George Fenwick and his family.
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Connecticut Valley Railroad’s First Train – Today in History: July 29
On July 29, 1871, a ceremonial train ran along the new 44-mile track built by the Connecticut Valley Railroad.
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Paradise on the Sound: The Summer Colony at Fenwick
The history of this Old Saybrook community includes Stick-style architecture, Katherine Hepburn, and an iconic license plate image.
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Katharine Hepburn Born – Today in History: May 12
On May 12, 1907, stage and screen legend Katharine Hepburn was born to Thomas Norval Hepburn and women’s right activist Katharine Houghton Hepburn.
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Sarah Kemble Knight’s Journey through Colonial Connecticut
In 1704, when long distance travel was rare and roads crude, a Boston woman journeyed by horseback to New York City and recorded her views of Connecticut along the way.
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Anna Louise James Makes History with Medicine
Anna Louise James operated a drugstore in Hartford until 1911, making her the first female African American pharmacist in the state.
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Lion Gardiner Helps to Fortify Early Old Saybrook
In 1635, the governor of the Saybrook colony hired engineer and soldier Lion Gardiner to build a critically needed fort for protection from both the Dutch colonists and local Native American tribes.
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When Old Saybrook Was a College Town
Yale University traces its origins back to the Connecticut Colony’s passing of “An Act for the Liberty to Erect a Collegiate School” in 1701.
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Katharine Hepburn’s Love Affair (with Connecticut)
One of the most popular actresses of the 20th century, Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford and lived much of her later life in Old Saybrook.
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Yale University from Colonial Times to the Present
Yale University has grown from the small “Collegiate School” founded in Saybrook in 1701 to one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
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Looking Back: the First “Aero Planes”
New flying machines drew excited crowds to the 1911 opening of a new bridge between Saybrook and Old Lyme.
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Over Time: Old Saybrook’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Looking Back: How the Vote Was Won
Today it is the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center (The Kate) but it began as the Old Saybrook Musical and Dramatic Club.
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