What was Southeastern Connecticut Really Like in the 18th Century? New London to The Lymes Part I

I often ponder what the area was like in colonial times. I have bought virtually every book on the regions history in attempt to paint a picture of what the area looked like.

All too often one´s vision of what it was like is based on what it looks like today plus a few new buildings or how historians of the time lived and equated their own current economic condition to that of the time… eg. everyone was dirty, smelled and had little food… or that per capita Americans were among the richest people and tallest in the world… ok very contradictory. 

My idea of what it looked like is still being formed. If we look at size of population then our image of the then would be much tainted as we base it on the now. New London with a few thousand citizens was quite large in its time. Only New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Charleston,SC had more than 10,000 citizens. Places like Litchfield, Lebanon, Norwich and Lyme had more than 2,000 making these places quite large for their time. 

New London saw its fair share of growth as it became the chief port of Connecticut due to its deep water and direct access to the Sound and ocean. It became a place where products from the inland communities were sent to the shore for transport to the Indies, England and other places. While a few thousand lived here… thousands more worked here. The waterfront was teaming with life. Dozens of ships at any one time were docked and being loaded and offloaded with cargoes. Families such as the Shaws, Richards and Coits of New London, the Harts of Saybrook and McCurdys of Lyme (Old) made a considerable living in the shipping trade followed by those who built ships.. the Coits of New London, the Beckwiths of Lyme and others made their fortunes and towns on building ships… The coopers (barrel makers) were next in line as were the rope makers and sail makers. A large group of well to do hard working people. Then the merchants, many of which were owned and operated by one of the aforementioned earned additional fortunes from buying and selling. Yankee ingenuity at its peak. 

Even the Hempstead family of New London chronicled their ability to have several professions at once. Sometimes out of necessity as the communities did not have the single resources available to manage one profession and other times out of money and other times out of the need to sell extra wares and services. 

If one looks to the first 3/4s of the 18th century the region would look something like this. 

New London: Bank Street (The Bank) and Main Street (State Street) with a handful of side streets developed (Cape Anne), Vauxhall and Bradley St. (widows row) among others… warehouses off water street from Guy Richards mansion near the current i-95 Bridge and the Olde Towne Mill to just past the Shaw Mansion on Bank Street. Shops and other businesses like taverns would have been here. Sailors could buy their wares and spend their money all in walk distance. New London´s main church was at the foot of State Street near the current home of the Parade, The gaol (jail) was here as was the first court house. Nathan Hale Schoolhouse was located at the corner of where the Crocker House is now and the Liberty Tree (Buttonwood corner) and tavern (Red Lion) was located at the corner of E.O´Neill and State Street. Further afield toward Waterford many of the most wealthy New Londoners had their farms (gentlemen farmers). Such as the Douglass family, later Revolutionary War soldiers, Whaling Masters and more… the Shaws (near Waterford Library). Even farther back were the venerable Christophers family of New London. They had acreage on Black Point in Niantic. These farms produced product for their own use and for sale (salt peatier, torv. and hay fields for cattle). 

New London houses had several styles.. gambrel capes like the Coit House off Coit Street and the Richard Douglass house in Green Street to Colonial saltbox style like that of the Hempstead House (then). Capes and a few Georgian style were found. Most gone due to time and the torch (Arnold´s raid in 1781). 

Waterford was VERY rural. Jordan Green area was the basic center of that town. Mostly a farming community with some ship building on the Niantic River (Beckwiths at Keeney Cove). Several farms (Douglass near Douglass Lane) and the Shaws as mentioned. 

Niantic had fewer than 5 developed properties in the immediate downtown area. Most of East Lyme was near Flanders. Were dozens of homes were located. As Dr.Vine Utley wrote in his diary "smokestacks of dozens of houses can be seen from Niantic Hill (Rt 1 at Scott´s Farmstand). Calkins Tavern (Now CVS site) was the center of news and information. Homes stood close together here giving the impression of a small town. Champion House, The Comstock Lodge and others were here. Slightly northward (Walnut Hill) were a handful of homes including the William Tinker House, Christopher Darrow and others eg. Jonathan Lattimer (Latimers Brook). East Lyme (inc. 1839) ran quite tightly packed to the top of Niantic Hill where the Baptist Church stood. The pest house, poor house (alms house) and others. Past Pattagansett lake stood several homes in an area that once an possibly consider an offshoot of the Grassy Hill area of Old Lyme but on the main road (2nd main) from North Lyme to the area.  

East Lyme was a busy thorough way to the modern day Waterford Line. Ship Building and Taverns on the Niantic River. Moses Warren lived in this area, using the Taber House (now gone to offramp to Exit 75. East Lyme was rural with farming as a main driver of economic activity. However Blacksmiths, Ship Builders, a dr. and mill(s) were found here making the town less reliant on New London for its livelihood. 

Niantic area had a couple of homes on Black Point and at South Boston such as the Andrew Griswold House (now gone - Rocky Neck Motel is), Thomas Lee House, Denison House, Havens House (gone), Utley House, Mill/sawmill near Romagna Lane all on Roxbury Rd.  Toward Niantic again were a handful of homes… Rathbun House, Lester House, Bush Mill, Tory House on E.Pattagansett. Huntey House etc… near Guys Oil. Nehantic Indians had perhaps 13 long houses here (Crescent Beach Area). Downtown Niantic had little until the early 19th century. The Sam.Smith House on the Niantic River was one of the few and still stands. Dogde House on Dodge Pond (Lake Ave). Via the Fairhaven Rd. area there were a handful of homes and a small ferry (Powers House). Old Black Point had and still has several homes… including the Griswolds, Christophers, Manwaring Houses. Niantic "may" have had a wharf or two on the Niantic River but it is believed that these came later. The gut (Niantic/Waterford line) was a rope ferry. Water was deep, the channel narrow and dangerous. The Niantic River was relatively shallow so long distance cargo import/export was not likely until the 19th century when dredging came about.

Old Lyme was the largest center of business in the region. Looking somewhat as it does today… (Lyme Street and Sill Lane). Wharfs were found on the Lieutenant River. John McCurdy ran a merchant shop at the Peck House on Sill Lane later a B&B and now a private residence. This area we will come back to in another blog. 

Most of the prominent citizens imported wares from England… however other than trade they later led the Revolutionary cause different than their New York counterparts whom knew more what of what was happening in London than that of in Connecticut.

Prominent families of this stretch included: 

Griswolds (Lyme, East Lyme)
Richards, Shaws, Coits, Hillhouses (New London)
Lees (East Lyme)
McCurdys (Old Lyme)
Manwarings (East Lyme)
Comstocks (East Lyme)
Mathers (Old Lyme)
Ely (Old Lyme)