Old Saybrook, Connecticut - Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Old Saybrook

Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,242 at the 2010 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybrook Manor.

Town Hall

In 1624, shortly after establishing their first settlement at Governor's Island, Dutch settlers established a short-lived factorij at present day Old Saybrook. 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 present-day Hartford.

Old Saybrook High School

The Saybrook Colony was established in late 1635 at the mouth of the Connecticut River, in what is today Old Saybrook and environs. 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 and Captain Lion Gardiner. As the principals of the group who had planned to settle the colony were supporters of Oliver Cromwell and remained in England during the English Civil War, the colony struggled. In 1644, Fenwick agreed to merge the colony with the more vibrant Connecticut Colony a few miles up river, which purchased the land and fort from him.

Main Street

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 "Qui Sustinet Transtulit".

In 1659, settlers from Saybrook purchased land from Chief Uncas, leader of the Mohegan Native American tribe, to found Norwich, Connecticut.

Photos from this Court of Honor

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

Post Office

The Turtle - the first American submarine - was invented in Westbrook Connecticut in 1775 by David Bushnell; a replica is housed at Old Saybrook Senior High School.

In early 2007, plans were established to return the former town hall building to its original use as a theater. The theatre was completed in 2009 and is named "Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Theater".

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center is a non-profit performing arts organization located in an historic theatre/town hall on Main Street in Old Saybrook. Originally opened in 1911 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Center has been renovated with public funds from the Town of Old Saybrook and donations raised by the Trustees of the Center. It includes a 250-seat theatre and a small museum honoring Katharine Hepburn, Old Saybrook's most celebrated resident.

Text from Wikipedia