a little sleepy town.......

Located at the mouth of the Connecticut River, and facing Long Island Sound, Algonquin Indians lived in peace and harmony amongst their surroundings. They would farm the lands with their neighbors the Nehantics until the early 1590's when the Pequot Indians, a war-like tribe from the North, conquered their lands.

In 1614, Adriaen Block, would be the first European to sail up the Connecticut River. He was sent by the Dutch West India Company on an expedition to explore, map and claim the eastern coast of "New Amsterdam" for the Dutch. Fearing that the Dutch would have competition in this area, they settled a group of men and women at the mouth of the river to establish a permanent community. Spending a few miserable months there, the community failed, and the settlers returned to New Amsterdam.

In 1631 President of the Counsil of New England, Earl Warwick signed an unusual deed of conveyance called the Warwick Patent. This deed would include eleven of his closest friends and family members, and be enlarged to include four more members within a year. Included in this list of men were Viscount Saye and Sele, Lord Brook, and Colonel George Fenwick. The area of the patent included a vast segment of New England land, part of which was the area located at the mouth of the river.

In 1635 the Warwick patentees would commission John Winthrop as the first govenor of the Connecticut territory. Learning that the Dutch were planning to re-occupy the lands, a boat was loaded with two cannons and 20 men. With orders to seize control of this land that sat on the river, they quickly put themselves ashore to ward off any attacks by either the Indians or Dutch. A year later, Lt. Lion Gardiner sailed to the area with more supplies and men in order to build a fort and lay out a town. This settlement would be known as Saye-brook in honor of Viscount Saye and Sele and Lord Brook. While it wouldn't be the oldest town in Connecticut, it was the oldest town located on the shoreline, as well as the oldest English town name in Connecticut.

As the town grew, the settlers would move farther away from the original settlement, and established their own parishes so as not to have to travel as far on Sundays to attend church services. They would become what is today known as the towns of Lyme, Old Lyme, Westbrook, Chester, Essex and Deep River. Somewhere through the annals of time, Saye-brook's name changed to Saybrook Point, then to Old Saybrook.

In the early 1960's, my parents would come to this town with four small children in tow. I would learn to ice skate and go sledding in the winter, as well as cherish the beach in the summer (when not making the regular treks to our summer cottage on Cape Cod). It was, and still is, a picturesque town filled with yankee heritage, summer cottages, and small New England-town charm.

Besides the beach and two lighthouses, the best attraction we had was Katherine Hepburn who lived in Fenwick, a small hamlet of Old Saybrook. Her parents had come to the town back in 1911, and purchased a summer cottage. Although the hurricane of 1938 had demolished the original house, it would be rebuilt. Kate was our local celebrity, and became cherished over the years due to her gracious donations. When not spending time in her Manhattan apartment or Hollywood, she lived in Fenwick. She was never seen, and never made any grand entrances anywhere, although she had lived a colorful life in her younger days during her summer stays..... well before my time. It was said that she was evicted from a local pub (I don't remember the reason why), that later became the store where my brother, Eric, had set up a printing shop back in the 1980's. They would come to know each other in her later years.
Eric, being a volunteer fireman for the town, would be called to duty at her house one time, as she had an incident with her fireplace and could not seem to put a small blaze out by herself. In return, she would purchase a fire truck from Florida, and donate it to the towns fire department. Upon her death, it was stated in her will that a painting of her would be donated to the Old Saybrook Historical Society "for preservation". It still hangs there today, as the town was very proud to adopt her as their own.

Another attraction of the town was The Castle Inn. At one time actress Ethyl Barrymore (great Aunt of Drew Barrymore) married into the family that owned this magnificent castle. During Prohibition, it was said that the basement area was used to "run rum". This all makes perfect sense, as the castle sat on Long Island Sound, and was pretty secluded. Urban Legend has it that a young child died there many many years ago, and his spirit still walked the halls in search of his room.

Traveling east of Old Saybrook, you would come to New London and Mystic (where the movie Mystic Pizza was filmed.... and yes, there is a pizza parlor there named Mystic Pizza; at least there was one there in 2001 on my last visit to New England). My Dad taught at a school for Deaf Children that sat up on a hill that somewhat overlooked Mystic Village; a recreated whaling village of the 1800's. Needless to say, we were surrounded by history everywhere.

Shortly before I entered the 9th grade, our family made one more move.... up into the cow pastures of New Hampshire. My brother Eric could never quite get Old Saybrook out of his system, and ended up moving back several years after he had graduated and married his childhood sweetheart. He would raise his children in the same town he grew up in.... a sleepy little resort area that lies on the mouth of the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound that is still much the same as it was when we first moved there back in the 1960's.