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Old Saybrook


Detail of a land point on a map labeled "Cornfield Point"

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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Newspaper clipping titled "For Orphans of Cuba"

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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Black and white photograph of a large ship next to a dock full of hundreds of people. There are people standing on the ship and streamers coming off the boat

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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Headshot of a woman looking away from the camera. Her dark hair is tied back in a low bun.

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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Connecticut River, 2011

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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Bushnell's Turtle

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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Tomb of Lady Fenwick, Saybrook Point

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 R. R. schedule

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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Cottages on Beach Road, Fenwick, ca. 1885

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, standing on the beach, Fenwick. Hurricane of 1938

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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Illustration of a woman on horse, woodcut

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 behind the soda fountain in the James' pharmacy

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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Detail from A mapp of New England by John Seller

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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Yale charter, October 9, 1701

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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Hamilton making adjustments to his biplane, 1911

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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Women Protestors of the Day March for the Vote

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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