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AHistory
History · Old Saybrook

Old Saybrook dates to 1635, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #36 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

21 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 133 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1860.

1635founded
21on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Old Saybrook’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Old Saybrook began

When was Old Saybrook founded?

1635

Old Saybrook dates its founding to 1635 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 1,105 in 1860391 years

How historic is Old Saybrook?

A

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1793.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Old Saybrook’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Old Saybrook is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #36 of 155 in Connecticut. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Old Saybrook’s overall grade.
Founding era1635, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194016.8% of homes (±4.1) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register21 listings, 148 historic buildings, 140 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 77%

Connecticut towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Connecticut town has 73.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Old Saybrook’s 140 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 148 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1635.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Old Saybrook’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Older than the countryEstablished in 1635, 141 years before the Declaration of Independence.Landmarks on the Register21 places on the National Register.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Old Saybrook, and 9 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Fenwick Historic District takes in 66 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Old Saybrook, 1635 to 1986

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 17th century
  2. 1635
    FoundingOld Saybrook is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1765BuiltAmbrose Whittlesey House is built
  5. 1793Post officeThe Saybrook post office opens
  6. 19th century
  7. 1845Born hereSamuel Hart is born here
  8. 1853In the archiveEntrance to Connecticut River Scanned from Admiralty Chart No 2471 New London and Connect…
  9. 1872Post officeThe New Saybrook post office opens
  10. 1874Post officeThe New Saybrook post office closes
  11. 1874Post officeThe Saybrook Point post office opens
  12. 1886BuiltSaybrook Breakwater Lighthouse is built
  13. 1890In the archiveHartford Yacht Club, Saybrook Point, Conn
  14. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 20th century
  16. 1905In the archiveCasino Grill, Saybrook, Conn., located on Boston Post Road, Saybrook, Conn
  17. 1908Born hereAnn Petry is born here
  18. 1910In the archiveSay Brook Junction, Old Say Brook, Conn
  19. 1933Born hereJames A. Lewis is born here
  20. 1948Post officeThe Saybrook post office closes
  21. 1956Post officeThe Saybrook Point post office closes
  22. 1986Born hereAlexis Sablone is born here
On the National Register

21 listings protect 148 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
21
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
148
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Humphrey Pratt Tavern
Humphrey Pratt TavernGen. William Hart HouseSamuel Eliot HouseOld Saybrook South GreenElisha Bushnell HouseParker HouseBlack Horse TavernWilliam Tully HouseJedidiah Dudley HouseJohn Whittlesey Jr. HouseAmbrose Whittlesey House, built 1765Lynde Point LighthouseSaybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, built 1886Connecticut Valley Railroad Roundhouse and Turntable SiteNorth Cove Historic DistrictJames PharmacyFenwick Historic DistrictOld Saybrook Town Hall and TheaterBushnell-Dickinson HouseCypress CemeteryShore Line Electric Railway Powerhouse
BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures

Architectural styles listings

Georgian4
Colonial Revival4
Federal4
Greek Revival2
Colonial2
Early Republic2
Humphrey Pratt TavernBuilding
Gen. William Hart HouseGeorgian
Samuel Eliot HouseGeorgian
Old Saybrook South GreenVictorian Gothic
Elisha Bushnell HouseBuilding
Parker HouseColonial Revival
Black Horse TavernFederal
William Tully HouseColonial
All 21 listings
Jedidiah Dudley HouseBuilding · listed 1982John Whittlesey Jr. HouseBuilding · listed 1984Ambrose Whittlesey HouseBuilding · listed 1985Lynde Point LighthouseStructure · listed 1990Saybrook Breakwater LighthouseStructure · listed 1990Connecticut Valley Railroad Roundhouse and Turntable SiteSite · listed 1994North Cove Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1994James PharmacyBuilding · listed 1994Fenwick Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1995Old Saybrook Town Hall and TheaterBuilding · listed 2007Bushnell-Dickinson HouseBuilding · listed 2013Cypress CemeteryDistrict · listed 2018Shore Line Electric Railway PowerhouseBuilding · listed 2019

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old Saybrook’s post office has been open since 1948. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Saybrook
1793–1948
New Saybrook
1872–1874
Saybrook Point
1874–1956
Old Saybrook
1948–today
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cornfield ParkFenwickFenwoodFloral ParkKnollwoodOtter Cove EstatesPlum Bank BeachSaybrook ManorSaybrook Point
Gone or out of use
Collegiate CollegeschoolFort FenwickmilitaryFort SaybrookmilitarySaybrook Stationlocale
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Old Saybrook
CypressLady Fenwicks GraveRiversideSaint Johns Roman CatholicUpper

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Old Saybrook came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Old Saybrook.

Read it all →

Dutch settlers established a short-lived factory at Old Saybrook in 1624, shortly after establishing their first settlement at Governors Island. 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 Hartford.

The Pequot siege of Saybrook Fort took place from September 1636 to March 1637 during the Pequot War.

ChaptersLater development

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Old Saybrook, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
Entrance to Connecticut River Scanned from Admiralty Chart No 2471 New London and Connecticut River, Published 18531853Entrance to Connecticut River Scanned from Admiralty …
1890s–1900s8 items
Hartford Yacht Club, Saybrook Point, Conn1890Hartford Yacht Club, Saybrook Point, ConnCottage Place (Boston Post Road), Saybrook, Conn1890Cottage Place (Boston Post Road), Saybrook, ConnSay Brooke Fort Memorial, Saybrook Point, Conn1890Say Brooke Fort Memorial, Saybrook Point, ConnCasino Grill, Saybrook, Conn., located on Boston Post Road, Saybrook, Conn1905Casino Grill, Saybrook, Conn., located on Boston Post…Postcard of Connecticut River railroad bridge constructionc. 1907Postcard of Connecticut River railroad bridge constru…PostcardPostcard of Connecticut River railroad bridgec. 1907Postcard of Connecticut River railroad bridgePostcardPostcardSaybrookCTSaybrookBreakwaterLight1907c. 1907PostcardSaybrookCTSaybrookBreakwaterLight1907PostcardStreetcar at Burns and Young store, Old Saybrook - postcard1907–1915Streetcar at Burns and Young store, Old Saybrook - po…Postcard
1910s1 item
Say Brook Junction, Old Say Brook, Conn1910Say Brook Junction, Old Say Brook, Conn
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Old Saybrook on the map in 1893

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Old Saybrook.

Old Saybrook on the 1893 USGS map1893Saybrook sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Old Saybrook.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Entrance to Connecticut River Scanned from Admiralty Chart No 2471 New London and Connecticut River, Published 1853
Retake this viewEntrance to Connecticut River Scanned from Admiralty Chart No 2471 New London and Connecticut River, Published 1853, 1853

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Old Saybrook’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Old Saybrook, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019001950200010,481

Grew from 1,105 people in 1860 to 10,481 in 2020, 9 times over.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Old Saybrook’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Old Saybrook

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Alexis SabloneAmerican skateboarder · b. 1986
A
Ann PetryAmerican writer and journalist · b. 1908
James A. LewisAmerican politician, Connecticut · b. 1933
Samuel HartAmerican Episcopal priest · b. 1845
C
C.W. VrtacekAmerican guitarist and multi-instrumentalist · b. 1953
Help out

Finish Old Saybrook’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEntrance to Connecticut River Scanned f…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Old Lyme5 historic placesBWestbrook3 historic placesAEssex10 historic placesAEssex Village5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSaybrook ManorIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWestbrook Center1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOld Saybrook Center11 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Old Saybrook’s history

What year was Old Saybrook founded?

In 1635, according to Wikidata. Old Saybrook’s post office opened in 1793, and the census of 1860 counted 1,105 people here.

How does Old Saybrook rank for history?

Old Saybrook is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #36 of 155 in Connecticut. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Old Saybrook?

21 listings: 14 buildings, among them the Humphrey Pratt Tavern (listed 1972, the first), 4 historic districts with 133 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 148 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Old Saybrook?

17% of Old Saybrook’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1967.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (21), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.