I'm going to be honest...we went for the hand. I heard there…read morewas a place in CT that had a mummified hand of a Saint and we made plans to go! We aren't a religious family but we do like history and that's not something you see everyday! There were four of us and we made a day of it as some UrbEx kids version. The drive to Mystic for us is about an hour and a half. Weather was perfect! You have to go thru Mystic, then Mason's Island then over a skinny bridge to get to Ender's. It's very well kept and run by the Catholic Church as a recovery program and retreat. But you can visit as a day trip. Lots of flower gardens, statues of Mary, a scenic view of the ocean. The Seaside Chapel is literally next to the water; we were wondering how it can be so close and not flood. The hand is in a glass case inside of the church that they use for Mass. It tells St.Edmund's story and has some trinkets in a case under the hand. I THINK they were from other Saints, like a special belonging. There are several picnic tables around the little island and we had come prepared. We brought out our food, sat seaside, and enjoyed a delightful lunch with the kids. It wasn't crowded and no one was loud, which was a nice change. I didn't take a lot of pics out of respect but here are a few. I would recommend it if you're interested in doing a little exploring.

A must see stop while in Mystic Seaport. Beautiful gardens and views . Yale graduate Dr.Enders…read morepurchased and begins building in or around 1910. Wife ultimately gifts to the Catholic community

The Florence Griswold Museum is more than just a beautiful museum. To show even more support this…read moreyear, I decided to buy a family membership. For years my family has been visiting the museum in the fall for the Wee Faerie Village, an extraordinary outdoor display of faerie villages that are created by local businesses and individuals. There isn't enough room for me to gush about this event. The beauty, creativity, and the scavenger hunt keep us coming back. The museum offers a glimpse into history, beautiful art, extraordinary gardens, breathtaking views of the river. and more.

We ventured to Old Lyme, Connecticut on Sunday for the final day of Mystical Murmurs: An Enchanted…read moreEnvironment by Adrien Broom. The exhibit features a fairy ring of gigantic mushrooms. The artist was born and raised in Old Lyme. The installation is meant to encourages us ponder the magical mysteries of the forest. We also really enjoyed the Amanita sculptures outside the main building housing the museum's permanent collection. We were able to photograph these just before one of the museum staff sold them off to a local mushroom enthusiast (since Sunday was the last day of the mushroom exhibit). While we came specifically for the mushroom installation, we also really enjoyed our visit to the other galleries. The museum showcases the work of the artists of the Old Lyme Artist Colony, a nexus of American Impressionism and has some beautiful impressionist landscape painting, including many by female artists of the 19th and early 20th century. The grounds here are also beautiful with gorgeous views of the Lieutenant River. There was also an exhibit of small fairy houses when we visited. Beautiful spot with nice staff and docents. Would definitely return here!

Completed in 1922, it was designed by Thomas Ellis Brown, a former chief engineer at Otis Elevator…read moreCompany, and built by the J. E. FitzGerald Construction Company of New London. What sets it apart is its rare implementation of the Brown Balance Beam Bascule, a patented design that was revolutionary for its time. Brown's design makes use of a multi-link counterweight system, in contrast to conventional bascule bridges, which pivot on permanent axles. This enables the bridge's enormous concrete counterweights to rotate only 69 degrees, but its 85-foot movable span spins a full 90 degrees. The key to a smoother, quieter functioning is a double-pivot hanger linkage that moves the effective lever arm while in motion. The bridge uses a self-locking worm gear system and its own imbalanced mass to maintain position instead of toe locks. The bridge's architecture is simple yet attractive. The bridge is framed like bookends by squat concrete towers that hold its exposed mechanical components, which include driving motors, bull wheels, and counterweights. Even though these towers aren't decorative, they have an air of industrial elegance, particularly when the bridge raises to allow sailboats to pass across. There was way too much traffic and zero parking nearby so we were not able to stick around to see the bridge open today. [Review 1069 of 2025 - 122 in Connecticut - 24623 overall]

This is a moveable bridge that goes over the Mystic River. It opens for the boats to float on by; I…read morewas lucky enough to see it in action while waiting in line for ice cream. It opened in 1922 and serves pedestrians as well as vehicles. This bridge was built to replace the 1866 bridge that used to be there. I am a fan of bridges and historic landmarks, so of course I had to review it! I enjoyed walking on it, driving on it, and seeing it open/close. It's definitely an iconic landmark in Mystic, you can't miss it!

http://www.wheelerlibrary.org/walkingtour.htm…read more You could easily blow right by this place without noticing it. The little village of North Stonington (once called Milltown) is small and quaint. This grist mill wheel was built by Frank Limpert in the early 1800's and the house is known as the Andrew Baldwin House. Limpert also built the series of dams across the Pendleton Hill Brook to access water more quickly in case of fires.

A town with a…read more history from the sea The town of Clinton, Connecticut was founded in 1663 and is located about 25 miles east of New Haven. It's one of the smallest towns in all of Connecticut in terms of size and once contain the area of Killingworth to the north. Clinton is very much still a beach town and the population of around 15,000 more than doubles in size during the summer months with the influx of tourists. Clinton's history is closely connected to the sea. Shipbuilding, fishing and tourism has long been a part of Clinton. The shipbuilding and fishing have pretty much disappeared but tourism is still the main source of income. Even though it takes only about a minute to drive from one end to the other, you will see a fair number of antique shops and nice restaurants on Main Street. One the interesting things about Clinton is the absolutely huge variety of houses. For such a small area you can find multi million dollar mansions on the beach, cool old historic houses on Main Street, modest ranches in the north and even a couple of trailer parks. It seems every single house in Clinton is different. One of the things that you won't find unless you look very hard is the water. They keep that a secret and that is one of the problems. There is a town beach but that's in the harbor but it's frequently more mud than water. The real beach is on Shore Road and that is very private. Being private is fine but most other states in New England have some public access to the water, in Connecticut it's frequently difficult to even get a glimpse of it. I lived in Clinton for 15 years and over that time I have seen many changes. The street where we lived used to be a community, we had block parties, had a little grocery store and had people walking along the beach all the time. Everyone knew each other. Now the store is gone, the social events have stopped and people have become even more possessive of the water. Walls and fences, even through illegal, extend down from the beaches into the water. No trespassing signs have appeared. Many of the smaller homes and cottages along the beach have been replaced by huge, looming and impersonal homes. Quite a few were built during the housing boom and now have for sale signs. The arrow to time moves forward, you can never go back. Places have to change and frequently the changes aren't particularly pleasant. But I still have a modicum of hope that shoreline Clinton can go back and recapture the sense of community and closeness that it once had. We shall see. I have added old postcards of Clinton many years ago instead of any contemporary photos.

Beautiful colonial era home with outbuildings. The smiths discovered granite on the property and…read morestarted a granite business. The house was restored to its colonial origins in the 1920's and is furnished in a manner consistent with the wealthy colonials. Our volunteer docent was descended from the Smiths and was extremely knowledgeable and proud of what they had achieved there. They have also established a granite museum that provides a brief history and a depiction of the granite harvesting and refinement process. We called for reservations and flexibility is key.

Things I learned from the Deep River Historical Marker:…read more They had a bustling manufacturing and shipping industry here way back in the 1600's. Things like wood barrels, lumber, pianos, shipbuilding, and the ivory trade represented Deep River's early industries. This is a 2-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It's located right in front of the Deep River Historical Society. The marker was dedicated in 1980 and is in pretty good condition. I did notice some fading on the blue background on the front side of the marker. 170th marker visited. All CT Towns accounted for.

A bit more aged in the nine years since Dan was here but the marker still stands proudly, telling…read moreall who pass about the history of this coastal Connecticut town. There is a small wide spot where you can pull over to read and appreciate the story here. The marker reads, "This coastline of Pequot Indian country was first mapped by Adriaen Block from Holland in 1614. The first settlers in 1649 were William and Anna Chesebrough at Wequetequock Cove. The next year Thomas Stanton built a trading post on the Pawcatuck River. Two years later came Walter Palmer, Thomas Miner, and Captain George Denison. John Gallup and Robert Park settled in the Mystic area soon afterwards." "In 1658 Massachusetts claimed the town, naming it Southerton. Governor John Winthrop, Jr. obtained the Connecticut Charter from England in 1662, which set the boundaries of the town. It was renamed Mystic in 1665 and Stonington in 1666. Men of Stonington repulsed a British naval attack on the town, both in 1775 and in 1814. The old trades of shipbuilding, whaling, sealing, and the railroad-steamboat terminal have been replaced by light manufacturing and commercial fishing. Today, Stonington's past maritime glory is reflected in the relics of her Mystic Seaport and Old Lighthouse Museum." It was Erected by the Town of Stonington, the Stonington Historical Society and the Connecticut Historical Commission in 1978. [Review 18663 overall - 80 in Connecticut - 2185 of 2022.]

Don't blink or you'll miss it, which would be a shame. . It's located on a strip of grass about…read moreten feet from traffic on a routine stretch of Route 1, not far from Elm Street. Unless you're looking for it, you'll never see it. This is a 2-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. The lettering is the same on both sides The marker is in good condition with easy to read lettering. It summarizes the history of the town- its heritage as Pequot Indian land, visit from Dutch explorer Adriaen Block in 1614 (Damn -that's a long time ago !), its earliest settlements in the 17th century, its colonial history (The men of Stonington repulsed a British attack in 1775 and repeated the act in the War of 1812!), and its distinguished maritime culture. It's a pretty wonderful history, even if it's in a place where few will ever read it. The marker reads: "This coastline of Pequot Indian country was first mapped by Adriaen Block from Holland in 1614. The first settlers in 1649 were William and Anna Chesebrough at Wequetoquock Cove. The next year Thomas Stanton built a trading post on the Pawcatuck River. Two years later came Walter Plamer, Thomas Minor, and Captain George Denison. John Gallup and Robert Park settled in the Mystic area soon afterwards. In 1658 Massachusetts claimed the town, naming it Southertown. Governor John Winthrop, Jr. obtained the Connecticut Charter from England in 1662, which set the boundaries of the town. It was renamed Mystic in 1665 and Stonington in 1666. Men of Stonington repulsed a British naval attack on the town, both in 1775 and in 1814. The old trades of shipbuilding, whaling, sealing, and the railroad-steamboat terminal have been replaced by light manufacturing and commercial fishing. Today, Stonington's past maritime glory is reflected in the relics of her Mystic Seaport and Old Lighthouse Museum." Erected by the Town of Stonington the Stonington Historical Society and the Connecticut Historical Commission 1976