View source for Old Saybrook, Connecticut

{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                     = Old Saybrook, Connecticut
| official_name            = Town of Old Saybrook
| settlement_type          = [[New England town|Town]]
| image_skyline            = Saybrook breakwater light.jpg
| imagesize                = 250px
| image_caption            = [[Saybrook Breakwater Light]]
| image_flag               = OldSaybrookCTflag.gif
| image_seal               = OldSaybrookCTseal.png
| image_map                = {{switcher|[[File:Old Saybrook CT lg.PNG|230px|frameless|alt=Old Saybrook's location within Middlesex County and Connecticut]]|&nbsp;[[Middlesex County, Connecticut|Middlesex County]] and Connecticut|[[File:Lower Connecticut River Valley incorporated and unincorporated areas Old Saybrook highlighted.svg|250px|frameless|alt=Old Saybrook's location within the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region and the state of Connecticut]]|&nbsp;[[Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut|Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region]] and Connecticut|default=1}}
| image_map1               = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=280|frame-height=200|frame-coord=SWITCH:{{coord|qid=Q1020609}}###{{coord|qid=Q779}}###{{coord|41|17|38|N|72|22|57|W}}|zoom=SWITCH:10;6;3|type=SWITCH:shape-inverse;point;point|marker=city|stroke-width=2|stroke-color=#000000|id2=SWITCH:Q1020609;Q779;Q30|type2=shape|fill2=#ffffff|fill-opacity2=SWITCH:0;0.1;0.1|stroke-width2=2|stroke-color2=#808080|stroke-opacity2=SWITCH:0;1;1|switch=Old Saybrook;Connecticut;the United States}}
| coordinates              = {{coord|41|17|38|N|72|22|57|W|region:US-CT|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name         = {{US}}
| subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state]]
| subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Connecticut}}
| subdivision_type2        = [[County (United States)|County]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Middlesex County, Connecticut|Middlesex]]
| subdivision_type3        = [[Councils of governments in Connecticut|Region]]
| subdivision_name3        = [[Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut|Lower CT River Valley]]
| established_title        = Settled
| established_date         = 1738
| established_title1       = Incorporated
| established_date1        = 1854
| government_type          = [[Board of selectmen|Selectman-town meeting]]
| leader_title             = First selectman
| leader_name              = Carl P. Fortuna, Jr. (R)
| leader_title1            = Selectman
| leader_name1             = Scott Geigerich (R)
| leader_title2            = Selectman
| leader_name2             = Matt Pugliese (D)
| unit_pref                = Imperial
| area_total_km2           = 55.9
| area_total_sq_mi         = 21.6
| area_land_km2            = 38.8
| area_land_sq_mi          = 15.0
| area_water_km2           = 17.0
| area_water_sq_mi         = 6.6
| elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft             = 20
| population_total         = 10481
| population_as_of         = 2020
| population_density_km2   = 270.1
| population_density_sq_mi = 
| timezone                 = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset               = &minus;5
| timezone_DST             = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset_DST           = &minus;4
| postal_code_type         = ZIP code
| postal_code              = 06475
| area_codes                = [[Area codes 860 and 959|860/959]]
| blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info               = 09-57320
| blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info              = 0213484<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|213484}}</ref>
| website                  = {{URL|https://www.oldsaybrookct.gov/}}
| footnotes                = 
}}

'''Old Saybrook''' is a town in [[Middlesex County, Connecticut]], part of the [[Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut|Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region]]. The population was 10,481 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US0900757320|title=Census – Geography Profile: Old Saybrook town, Middlesex County, Connecticut|access-date=December 18, 2021}}</ref> It contains the incorporated borough of [[Fenwick, Connecticut|Fenwick]], and the census-designated places of [[Old Saybrook Center, Connecticut|Old Saybrook Center]] and [[Saybrook Manor, Connecticut|Saybrook Manor]].

==History==

[[New Netherlander|Dutch settlers]] established a short-lived [[factory (trading post)|factory]] at Old Saybrook in 1624, shortly after establishing their [[New Netherland settlements|first settlement]] at [[Governors Island]].<ref>{{Citation   | last = Tully   | first = William B.   | title = Town of Old Saybrook   | work = The History of Middlesex County 1635–1885   | publisher = J. H. Beers & Co.   | year = 1884   | page = 442   | url = http://dunhamwilcox.net/town_hist/old_saybrook_hist.htm   }}</ref> The trading post was named Kievits Hoek, or "Plover's Corner". Kievits Hoek was soon abandoned as the Dutch consolidated settlement at [[New Amsterdam]]. In 1633, [[Fort Goede Hoop]] (''Huys de Goede Hoop'') was established at Hartford.

The [[Pequot people|Pequot]] siege of Saybrook Fort<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pequotwar.org/archaeology/overview-siege-and-battle-of-saybrook-fort/|title=The Siege and Battle of Saybrook Fort &#124; Battlefields of the Pequot War|access-date=July 27, 2020}}</ref> took place from September 1636 to March 1637 during the [[Pequot War]].

In August 1636, Massachusetts Bay attacked Manisses, Pequot, and Western Niantic villages, and the Pequot retaliation fell on the settlers at Saybrook. The Pequots killed and wounded more than 20 settlers at and near Saybrook Fort over a period of eight months. The settlers were attacked when they ventured far from their palisade, and the Pequots destroyed their provisions and burned warehouses, while attempting to interrupt river traffic to Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford.<ref>{{cite book |title=Colonial Connecticut: A History |first=Robert J. |last=Taylor |publisher=KTO Press |location=Milwood, NY |year=1979 |page=13}}</ref>
The siege of Saybrook escalated the Pequot War in [[Connecticut Colony]] and indirectly resulted in the attack and destruction of Mistick Fort in May 1637.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pequotwar.org/archaeology/overviewbattle-of-mistic-fort/|title=The Battle of Mistick Fort &#124; Battlefields of the Pequot War|access-date=July 27, 2020}}</ref>

The [[Saybrook Colony]] was established in late 1635 at the mouth of the [[Connecticut River]] in Old Saybrook.  [[John Winthrop, the Younger]], son of the Governor of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]], was designated governor by the group that claimed possession of the land via a deed of conveyance from [[Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick]]. Winthrop was aided by Colonel [[George Fenwick (MP)|George Fenwick]] and Captain [[Lion Gardiner]]. The new colony struggled because the investors who had planned to settle there were supporters of [[Oliver Cromwell]], and they remained in England during the [[English Civil War]]. In 1644, Fenwick agreed to merge the colony with the more vibrant [[Connecticut Colony]] up the Connecticut River near Hartford, and they purchased the land and fort from him.

The design of the [[Flag of Connecticut]] comes from the seal of Saybrook Colony. The seal was brought from England by Colonel George Fenwick, and depicted 15 grapevines and a hand in the upper left corner with a scroll reading "[[Seal of Connecticut|Qui Transtulit Sustinet]]", "He who transplanted sustains".

In 1647, [[John Mason (colonist)|Major John Mason]] assumed command of the fort at [[Saybrook Colony]], which controlled the main trade and supply route to the upper Connecticut River valley. The fort promptly and mysteriously burned to the ground, but another improved fort was quickly built nearby on the Battery Mound. He spent the next 12 years there and also served as commissioner of the [[New England Confederation|United Colonies]], the chief military officer, magistrate, and peacekeeper. In 1659, almost all settlers from Saybrook under the leadership of Mason purchased land from [[Uncas]], ''sachem'' of the [[Mohegan]] tribe; they then moved to and founded [[Norwich, Connecticut]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofnorwich00caulk|title=History of Norwich|last=Caulkins|first=Frances Manwaring|date=1866|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofnorwich00caulk/page/57 57]}}</ref>  This second fort was abandoned after 200 years and the battery mound remained until 1871, when the Valley Railroad leveled it and other hills on the point to provide needed fill for their tracks across the north and south coves.

In 1661, Saybrook residents Margaret Jennings and her husband Nicholas were accused of causing the deaths of Marie Marvin and others. The trial resulted in a finding that they were probably witches, but the proof was not sufficient to execute them.<ref>Mahan, Russell, Thomas Leffingwell: The Connecticut Pioneer Who Rescued Chief Uncas and the Mohegans; Historical Enterprises, Santa Clara, UT, 2018, pp. 57–61.</ref>

On October 9, 1701, the Collegiate School of Connecticut was chartered in Old Saybrook. It moved to [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]] in 1716, and was later renamed [[Yale University]].

David Bushnell invented the first submarine, called [[American Turtle|the ''Turtle'']], in Westbrook, Connecticut in 1775. A replica is housed at the [[Connecticut River Museum]] in [[Essex, Connecticut|Essex]].

[[Image:Turtle model at the Royal navy submarine museum.jpg|thumb|upright|''Turtle'' replica on display at the [[Royal Navy Submarine Museum]]]]

The General Assembly created the separate town of Old Saybrook from Saybrook in 1852. Old Saybrook was partitioned again in 1854, when the northern part became the town of Essex.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://csginc.org/csg_city_details.php?id=106|title=Connecticut Society of Genealogists: Old Saybrook|access-date=July 27, 2020}}</ref>

=== Later development ===

In early 2007, plans were established to return the former town hall building to its original use as a theater. The theater was completed in 2009 and is named the [[Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center]].
[[File: Katharine-Hepburn-Cultural-Arts-Center.jpg |thumb|right| The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in 2011]]
The town has committed spending almost $2 million on the renovation, and at least $810,000 were to be contributed by the state. A committee was attempting to raise another $2.5 million, partly for the renovation and to add two wings, but also for an endowment. The structure was originally built in 1901, and was a theater until the 1940s. After renovations, the theater was to seat 250, and Hepburn memorabilia would be displayed there.<ref>Wojtas, Joe, "Hepburn's Town to Honor Her With a Theater", ''The New York Times'', "Connecticut" section, p. 2, February 18, 2007</ref>

==Geography==
Old Saybrook is located on the western side of the mouth of the [[Connecticut River]].<ref name=braden>{{cite book |last1=Braden |first1=Al |title=The Connecticut River: A Photographic Journy into the Heart of New England |date=1 March 2010 |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |isbn=978-0-8195-7052-9 |page=118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uW48m8ifpmAC&pg=PA118 |language=en}}</ref> It is connected to [[Old Lyme]], which lies on the eastern side of the river, by the [[Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge]] ([[Interstate 95]]) and the [[Connecticut River Bridge (Northeast Corridor)|Connecticut River railroad bridge]].<ref name=braden />

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 21.6&nbsp;square miles (56.0&nbsp;km{{sup|2}}), of which 6.6&nbsp;sq mi (17.0&nbsp;km{{sup|2}}) (30.45%) are covered by water.

===Principal communities===

* [https://www.chalkerbeachimprovementassociation.com/ Chalker Beach]
*[https://www.cornfieldpointassociation.com/ Cornfield Point]
*District of Fencove
*[https://www.boroughoffenwick.com/ Borough of Fenwick]
*District of Fenwood
*[https://www.indiantownassociation.org/ Indian Town]
*[https://www.knollwoodbeachct.com/ Knollwood]
*[[Old Saybrook Center|Old Saybrook Center (includes Saybrook Point)]]
*District of Otter Cove
*[[Saybrook Manor, Connecticut|Saybrook Manor]]
*[[North Cove Historic District|North Cove]]

===Flora===

Coastal Connecticut (including Old Saybrook) is the broad transition zone where  so-called "subtropical indicator" plants and other broadleaf evergreens can successfully be cultivated. Old Saybrook averages about 90 days annually with freeze (temperatures of 32&nbsp;°F/0&nbsp;°C) – about the same as Baltimore, Maryland, or Albuquerque, New Mexico, for example. As such, [[Magnolia grandiflora|southern magnolias]], [[Rhapidophyllum|needle palms]], [[windmill palm]]s, [[Pinus taeda|loblolly pines]], and [[Lagerstroemia indica|crape myrtles]] are grown in private and public gardens.

==Education==

Old Saybrook is home to a district educational system. Kathleen E. Goodwin School is for prekindergarten through grade 4, Old Saybrook Middle School is for grades 5 through 8, and [[Old Saybrook Senior High School]] is for grades 9 through 12. The high school competes in the [[Shoreline Conference]]. From 2018 to 2023, the boys’ soccer team won 5 consecutive [[Connecticut Association of Schools|state championships]].

Old Saybrook is also home to prekindergarten through grade 8 at St John's Catholic School, and toddler–grade 6 at the Children's Tree Montessori School. The town also has a number of students who attend private schools, including nearby parochial schools such as [[Xavier High School (Connecticut)|Xavier High School]] and [[Mercy High School (Connecticut)|Mercy High School]].

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1860= 1105
|1870= 1215
|1880= 1302
|1890= 1484
|1900= 1431
|1910= 1516
|1920= 1463
|1930= 1643
|1940= 1985
|1950= 2499
|1960= 5274
|1970= 8468
|1980= 9287
|1990= 9552
|2000= 10367
|2010= 10242
|2020= 10481
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2010 U.S. Census===

As of the 2010 census, 10,242 people, 4,247 households, and 2,923 families were living in the town; 1,108 households had children under 18. The population density was {{convert|682.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|adj=off}}. The 5,602 housing units had an average density of {{convert|373.5|/sqmi|/km2|adj=off}}. The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2010 census|racial makeup]] of the town was 93.9% White, 0.9% African American, 0.1% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.3% of the population.

Of the 4,247 households, 23.7% had children under 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were not families. About 28.9% of households were one person and 14.6% were one person 65 or older. The average household size was 2.21, and the average family size was 2.71.

The age distribution was 21.4% under 20, 3.4% from 20 to 24, 16.4% from 25 to 44, 33.5% from 45 to 64, and 25.3% 65 or older. The median age was 50.1 years. The population consisted of 4,852 (47.4%) males and 5,390 (52.6%) females.

The median household income was $80,347 and the median family income  was $97,399. Males had a median income of $74,298 versus $49,913 for females. The per capita income for the town was $43,266. About 4.5% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=April 1, 2013}}</ref>

===2000 U.S. Census===

At the [[2000 United States census|2000 census]],  10,367 people, 4,184 households, and 2,920 families resided in the town. The population density was {{convert|689.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|adj=off}}. The 5,357 housing units had an average density of {{convert|356.3|/sqmi|/km2|adj=off}}. The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2010 census|racial makeup]] of the town was 95.8% White, 1.0% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.5% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.9% of the population.

Of the 4,184 households, 27.2% had children under 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were not families. About 25.4% of households were one person, and 12.9% were one person 65 or older. The average household size was 2.41, and the average family size was 2.90.

The age distribution was 21.7% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median household income was $62,742 and the median family income  was $72,868. Males had a median income of $48,527 versus $36,426 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,720. About 1.5% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

==Transportation==
{{Main|Old Saybrook  station}}

[[File:Old Saybrook Station.jpg|thumb|Platforms at the Old Saybrook train station, 2007]]

Old Saybrook's train station opened in 1873 and was rebuilt in 2002. [[Amtrak]], the national rail passenger system, provides daily service along the [[Northeast Corridor]] to Boston, New York, and points south. The high-speed ''[[Acela Express]]'' passes through Old Saybrook, but does not stop. The local service is provided by the conventional ''[[Northeast Regional]]''. The Connecticut Department of Transportation provides regular commuter service to New Haven, New London, and Stamford via the [[Shore Line East]], and connecting service to the MetroNorth Railroad, which runs to [[Grand Central Terminal]] in [[Manhattan]].

The [[Estuary Transit District]] provides public transportation services throughout Old Saybrook and the surrounding towns through its 9 Town transit services.

Old Saybrook is served by two freeways that intersect within the town's borders.  [[Interstate 95]] runs across the town from west to east (though it is signed north–south), and connects Old Saybrook to New Haven and New London along the Connecticut shoreline.  [[Connecticut Route 9]] has its southern terminus at I-95, and extends to the northwest to ultimately reach Middletown and Hartford.

==Media==
One radio station is licensed to Old Saybrook: WLIS AM 1420 (variety). The town is also covered by Shore Publishing and the local newspaper the ''Harbor News''.

==National Register of Historic Places in Old Saybrook==
*[[Black Horse Tavern (Old Saybrook, Connecticut)|Black Horse Tavern]], added December 1, 1978
*[[Elisha Bushnell House]], added November 29, 1978
*[[Connecticut Valley Railroad Roundhouse and Turntable Site]], added April 28, 1994
*[[Jedidiah Dudley House]], added April 12, 1982
*[[Samuel Eliot House]], added November 9, 1972
*[[Gen. William Hart House|General William Hart House]], added November 9, 1972
*[[James Pharmacy]], added August 5, 1994
*[[Lynde Point Light]]house, added May 29, 1990
*[[Old Saybrook South Green]], added September 3, 1976
*[[Parker House (Connecticut)|Parker House]], added November 29, 1978
*[[Humphrey Pratt Tavern]], added November 7, 1972
*[[Saybrook Breakwater Light]]house, added May 29, 1990
*[[William Tully House]], added March 15, 1982
*[[Ambrose Whittlesey House]], added August 23, 1985
*[[John Whittlesey Jr. House]], added October 26, 1984

==Notable people==
* [[Vin Baker]] (born 1971), professional basketball player in the NBA (1993–2006)
* [[Virginia Biddle]] (1910–2003), American [[revue]] performer and [[showgirl]]
* [[Fred Crane (baseball)|Fred Crane]] (1840–1925), American baseball player in the 1860s/1870s
* [[Lion Gardiner]] (1599–1663), colonist and engineer 
* [[Katharine Hepburn]] (1907–2003), four-time Academy Award-winning actress and Hollywood legend, lived in the borough of Fenwick 
* [[John Clellon Holmes]] (1926–1988), writer and poet associated with the "[[Beat Generation]]"
* [[Anna Louise James]] (1886–1977), first female African American [[pharmacist]] in Connecticut
* [[Ann Petry]] (1908–1997), novelist, journalist, and biographer
* [[Maria Sanford]] (1836–1920), American educator and professor at [[Swarthmore College]] and [[University of Minnesota]]
* [[Elmer Eric Schattschneider]] (1892–1971), prominent political scientist and former president of the [[American Political Science Association]]
* [[Simon Willard (Massachusetts colonist)|Simon Willard]] (1605–1676), colonist

==Image gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Old Saybrook, Connecticut 2016 175.jpg|
File:Old Saybrook, Connecticut 2016 176.jpg|Justin Smith Sweet House, 1710
File:Old Saybrook, Connecticut 2016 177.jpg|
File: GENERAL WILLIAM HART HOUSE.jpg | [[Gen. William Hart House]], 1767
File: JOHN WHITTLESEY JR HOUSE, OLD SAYBROOK.jpg | [[John Whittlesey Jr. House]], 1693
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Connecticut}}
* [[Saybrook, Illinois|Saybrook]], Illinois, is named in honor of Old Saybrook.
* [[Saybrook College]], [[Yale University]] is named after the town.
* [[Saybrook University]] is named in honor of a 1964 psychology conference that took place in the town.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
* {{wikivoyage inline}}
*[http://www.oldsaybrookct.org Town government Web site]
*[http://www.saybrookhistory.org Old Saybrook Historical Society]
**[https://saybrookhistory.org/history-of-old-saybrook/ History of Old Saybrook at the Old Saybrook Historical Society]

{{Connecticut}}
{{Middlesex County, Connecticut}}
{{Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut}}
{{Greater Hartford}}
{{Connecticut River}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Old Saybrook, Connecticut| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Middlesex County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Connecticut populated places on the Connecticut River]]
[[Category:Towns in Connecticut]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Connecticut]]
[[Category:Greater Hartford]]
[[Category:1624 establishments in the Dutch Empire]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1624]]
[[Category:Towns in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut]]