Lyme, Connecticut

The Hamburg Bridge Historic District is located in Lyme, Connecticut. It encompasses a small village which was of economic importance until about 1824, as the site of a bridge across the Eight Mile River since 1759, and as the head of navigation of the river, which feeds the Connecticut River at Hamburg Cove. The district includes 10 houses, all of which are historically significant, as well as old stone wharves dating to the period. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 10, 1983.

The source of the Eightmile River is a swampy, undeveloped region in the town of East Haddam, Connecticut, centered between Ackley Road, Hall Kilbourne Road, Usher Swamp Road, and Miles Standish Road. The Eightmile River runs for 13.4 miles (21.6 km) to Hamburg Cove in the town of Lyme, Connecticut. The East Branch of the river begins 1/10 of a mile west of the junction of Route 85 and Witch Meadow Road, about 1 mile north of Salem, Connecticut. A popular paddling route begins about 3 miles southwest of Salem along Darling Road about a half mile southwest of the junction of White Birch Road. Most of the route is whitewater reaching Class III-IV at its most difficult with some flatwater and quickwater between the rapids. A take-out can be found at the Route 156 bridge just before the river's confluence with the main branch of the Eightmile River.

The Soul Mountain Retreat is a writer's colony in East Haddam, Connecticut, USA.

Doris is a sailing yacht, which has also been known as Astarte, Huntress and Vayu, in Deep River, Connecticut that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. She was designed by Nathanael Herreshoff, who designed five America's Cup defender yachts and who also was the main architect of the America's Cup rule change called the Universal Rule. That rule allowed for displacement as well as length and sail area to be included in a formula defining yacht eligibility, and enabled more "sea-kindly" and roomier yachts to be competitive. The vessel known as Doris was constructed with a primary emphasis on speed and novelty, representing an avant-garde design that was highly appreciated in her era. She participated in a plethora of prestigious regattas and races, including the Annual Cruise of the New York Yacht Club and the Newport-Bermuda Race, showcasing her remarkable agility and endurance. As the years went by, Doris was passed from owner to owner, each making alterations and updates to the vessel in various ways. In 1984, her tremendous contributions to the world of yachting were recognized when she was inscribed into the National Register of Historic Places. Doris remains an exceptional and precious manifestation of the Herreshoff's oeuvre, and she is adored by sailing enthusiasts and historians worldwide. Previously, America Cup racers were often "either sleek and fast, but had unseaworthy characteristics, or scow-like vessels which were cumbersome but safe and able passage-makers.": 4  Doris is believed to be the largest Herreshoff-designed sloop that was built and has survived.: 5  She is said to be the first boat built under the Universal Rule. Built in Bristol, Rhode Island, in 1905, by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co.,: 5  Doris is the largest all-wood vessel ever built by the firm. The ship was commissioned by S. Reed Anthony, a founding partner of investment banking firm Tucker, Anthony & Co.,: 9  who paid $18,000. She soon proved her worth, as Doris "... proved to be a sensation in the yachting world when she defeated Gloriana, an earlier Herreshoff design built in 1891 and reported to be the fastest sailing vessel of her day, in a series of match races off Marblehead, Massachusetts.": 4  The ship is also unusual for two construction details. Herreshoff employed metal hanging knees instead of the more traditional sheer clamp, and Doris is the only boat to possess what Herreshoff called "belt" or "web frames", whereby oak frames were bent "over the ceiling".: 4 Although originally rigged as a gaff-sloop / cutter, the rigging was changed prior to the 1932 Bermuda Race. This proved to be advantageous, as the yacht led the race "for a good part of the race before light winds gave favor to the smaller vessels.": 5  In 1934, under the ownership of Lawrence Lowell Reeve, she was converted to a Marconi-ketch.: 4 Over the years Doris has gone under a number of names. Under Lawrence Reeve she was referred to as Astarte from 1934. She was renamed Huntress in 1937 under new owners, and became Vayu when purchased by Richard Hart in 1940. James Mercanti purchased Vayu from Frederic B. Smith of Winthrop, Massachusetts. The ship remained as Vayu under the next owner, Jim Mercanti, who had the boat between 1957 and 1975, before coming into the possession David Revenaugh. Under Brian Amble, who owned the boat from 2001 until at least 2007, she was known once more by her original name, Doris.At its NRHP listing in 1984, the yacht was located in the Connecticut River off River Rd., Deep River, Connecticut, but it was expected to be moved for an upcoming restoration. Latest information is that the ship is owned by Crocker's Boatyard in New London, Connecticut. According to the Herreshoff Registry, the ship "is currently in poor condition and is in imminent danger of being cut up."Original construction drawings for much of the ship are preserved in the collection at the Hart Nautical Museum, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.She is currently under restoration at Snediker Yacht Restoration.

The Falls River is a 7.7-mile-long (12.4 km) river located in Essex, Connecticut. It begins in the Pond Meadow area of Ivoryton and runs for about 5 miles (8.0 km) through Essex. Its beginnings are visible from Comstock Field at the end of Park Road in Ivoryton. Before that it runs to a small pond behind the L.C. Doane Company near Pond Meadow Road. It runs along the old Sohmer Piano Factory, under Walnut Street, and along Main Street. It continues to run along Main Street, being very visible near the Lutheran Church. It eventually winds its way to the Connecticut River, near a parcel of conserved land called Osage Trails.

The Connecticut River Museum is a U.S. educational and cultural institution based at Steamboat Dock in Essex, Connecticut that focuses on the marine environment and maritime heritage of the Connecticut River Valley.The three-story Connecticut River Museum is located in a restored 1878 steamboat warehouse, which is now the only one of its type remaining on the river, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum opened to the public in 1975, with Connecticut Governor Ella Grasso as its first paid member and ex officio patron. The core of its collection came from the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, which provided the museum with a loan of nautical artwork, navigation equipment and maritime-related artifacts. The museum's main and third levels offer changing exhibits, while its second level is home to a permanent exhibition on shipbuilding, which includes historical maps and models of steamboats and exhibits on the piscine species in the Connecticut River.The museum's collection also includes a full-scale replica of Turtle, the first American submarine, which was constructed in Essex in 1776 for use against the British in the American Revolution. The museum property also includes a boathouse and a research library. In December 1995, the museum was given a triangular 1-acre (4,000 m2) waterfront property, valued at US$910,000, in the neighboring village of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, by Bill and Victoria Winterer, who were among the museums co-founders. The property is used as a waterfront park managed by the museum. In 2011 the museum caught fire. They had to rebuild part of it.

The Griswold Inn is located in Essex, Connecticut and is one of the oldest continuously run inns in the United States. It was founded by three brothers in the late 18th century and named after the Griswold Family of the area, and it has been under the stewardship of only six families. British troops captured it during the War of 1812 and used it as a base of operations. During Prohibition, it still maintained a lively entertainment schedule for the local yachtsmen. Over the years, several surrounding buildings were added to the inn complex, each with its own history. It was also used as a filming location for the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.

The Working Girls' Vacation Society Historic District is a 27-acre (11 ha) historic district in East Haddam, Connecticut that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. It is significant by dint of the properties having been owned, during 1892–1945, by the Working Girls' Vacation Society of New York City, and used as a summer retreat for working women from the city. The society is similar to the Young Women's Christian Association, founded in 1866, in that it is one of many organizations intending to "minister to the 'temporal, moral and religious welfare of self-supporting women.' Led by enlightened upper class philanthropist/reformers such as copper heiress Grace Dodge, a national network of "working girls' clubs" formed in the 1880s. Their mission primarily was to protect the morality of working women, rather than to improve the conditions of the workplace (note 4); their means included the creation of opportunities for social intercourse, self-improvement (education), and recreation in a morally uplifting setting. The New York Working Girls' Club, founded by Dodge in 1883 and the first of its kind in the nation, maintained, for example, a clubhouse with a library and extensive series of lectures, classes, and social events (note 5). The employment-related health needs of working girls were not ignored. The Working Girls' Vacation Society of New York, an offshoot of the Working Girls' Club, was founded in 1883 to provide summer vacations in the country for women with demonstrated health problems. The founders of the society included prominent upper-class women and social workers (note 6). In a pattern repeated in other cities, the Vacation Society made available low-cost stays generally of two weeks in duration at rural locations (note 7)."A total of 411 working girls were assisted by the society in the summer of 1884. By 1915 the society had created several retreats in Connecticut and served 1450.The district includes three side-by-side properties on a rural road in East Haddam, Connecticut, with three houses and three barns.When listed, the district included six contributing buildings and one non-contributing building. Three of the six are residences. The Phebe Howell House (c.1835), is constructed with pegged post-and-beam framing, and shows what may be its original clapboard siding. It and the Charles Howell House (c.1825) are constructed on granite ashlar foundations. The latter's doorway is flanked by fluted pilasters. A vernacular bungalow house (c.1915) is the other.The three other contributing buildings are 19th-century, wood-frame barns. The one at 66 Mill Road (photograph 5 in accompanying photos) "is similar in size and design to the ell on the Phebe Howell House, which tends to confirm oral history that this barn was formerly attached to the rear of the Charles Howell House."DiNapoli, writing in 1892, describes the working girls' plight.The association renamed in 1950 to become the Katherine Herbert Fund, named after the 1885 founder of the society. In 1974 it merged with the Stony Wold Corporation, an organization that had focused upon tuberculosis, to become the Stony Wold-Herbert Fund.

The First Baptist Church in Essex, Connecticut, built in 1846, is notable for being one of only three Egyptian revival churches known to have ever been built in the United States. The architect was Minard Lafever.The handsome, white clapboard building features a tripartite facade, the central section of which is a frustum that rises to support the cupola. The church's original steeple was destroyed after being struck by lightning in 1925.

Essex Village is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Essex, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 2,583 at the 2020 census, out of 6,733 in the entire town of Essex. The government offices of the town are located within the village.

Essex Historic District was a proposed district, nominated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It would have included parts of Main, N. Main, S. Main, and W. Main Sts., in Essex, Connecticut.The NRIS database recorded, on June 21, 1978, with reference number 78003525, that the district received listing status of DR, which means "Date Received/Pending Nomination". There apparently was no further National Register action, and the district was not listed.Multiple internet webpages assert that Essex Historic District exists and/or was listed on the National Register, but those webpages appear to be incorrect. They apparently reflect incorrect interpretation of the National Register's NRIS database.

Hill's Academy is a historic school building at 22 Prospect Street in Essex, Connecticut. It is now the home of the Essex Historical Society, and was also historically known as the Red Men's Hall because it served as an Improved Order of Red Men lodge. It is a two-story Greek Revival building that was built in 1832, and was used as a school until 1910. It was used by the Improved Order of Red Men between 1915 and 1954. The town then established the Essex Historical Society to receive the property and to preserve local history. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.The academy building occupies a prominent location overlooking Essex's Main Street area, facing east on the west side of Prospect Street just south of the Congregational and Baptist churches. It is a two-story brick building, with a gabled roof capped by a squat single-stage belfry. The front facade is three bays wide, articulated by brick pilasters painted white, which rise to an entablature and fully pedimented gable. Pilasters are also found at the corners of the wood-framed belfry, which has rectangular louvered openings. The main entrance is in the central bay, while the flanking bays are blank. The interior has an entrance vestibule, from which narrow stairs wind to the second floor on the right. Each floor has a single large chamber, which functioned as classrooms during the building's academy phase. Original finishes include wood flooring and staircase trim.The academy was founded in 1831 through the efforts of John Hill, a local businessman, and this building was completed the following year. It was one of the first secondary schools in southern Connecticut, providing the equivalent of a junior high school education to students from as far away as the states in the American South. By 1892, the town had an established public high school, and the academy was dissolved in 1902, its building turned over to the town.