Community Corner

Picture Connecticut: The 1938 Hurricane, Part 2

Another look at a devastating storm that hit Connecticut.

The 1938 Hurricane wrecked the train station in Mystic.
The 1938 Hurricane wrecked the train station in Mystic. (Dehnel Family Collection )

EASTERN CONNECTICUT — Since hurricanes are on the brain this week, let's take another look at the 1938 version, which slammed into the Connecticut shore 86 years ago.

Pictured above is the collapsed train station in Mystic, which was wrecked by high winds.

Below is a boat that was lifted up by the storm surge onto a pier in Stonington.

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(Dehnel Family Collection)

The images were captured by Heman Dehnel Sr., a track foreman who traveled to eastern Connecticut from his Greenwich home to assist the railroad with cleanup efforts.

On Sept. 21, 1938, the storm crossed over the tip of Long Island, hit New London and raced up the Connecticut River Valley at 50 miles per hour, leaving a path of destruction.
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Picture Connecticut is a weekly series that features images of the state, past and present.

Here are past images:

2024

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