East Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,693 at the 2020 census. The villages of Niantic and Flanders are located in the town.

Geography
- Villages
- Topography
Demographics
History
- Notable locations
Beaches
- Public beaches
- Private beaches
Places of worship
Economy
Notable people
Images for kids
See also

Geography

East Lyme is located in southern New London County, west of Waterford and Montville, east of Lyme and Old Lyme, and south of Salem. Long Island Sound is to the south. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.0 square miles (109 km²), of which 34.0 square miles (88 km²) is land and 7.9 square miles (20 km²), or 18.89%, is water.

Villages

The town consists primarily of two villages, Flanders and Niantic. It is common for the town of East Lyme to be erroneously called "Niantic", due to this side of town being the "beach" side which is popular with tourists and visitors in the summer months. Niantic's population doubles in the summer months for the beach season, and it has a much higher density than the more sparsely populated Flanders side of town, which is known for its apple orchards, the town's high school, and forest.

Niantic

Main page: Niantic, Connecticut

The Morton House Hotel in the village of Niantic has been in continuous operation for more than 100 years.

The village of Niantic gets its name from the Niantic or Nehantic people, whose ranging grounds once extended from Wecapaug Brook, in what is now Rhode Island, to the Connecticut River. Shortly before the first settlers arrived, the Pequots had invaded Nehantic territory and annexed about half of the land claimed by the tribe. According to local historian Olive Tubbs Chendali:

It was the construction of the railroad in 1851 that lured people to the shoreline which up to this time had been known - not as Niantic - but as "The Bank". Long before this time, however, as evidenced by The Diary of Joshua Hempstead - 1711 - 1758 it was known as "Nahantick" "Nyantick" or "Nehantic", the home territory of the Nehantic Indians.

Sportfishing and marinas dominate the village's industry along with summer tourism and restaurant trade. Strong regional businesses include seafood restaurants and hotels/motels serving the town's beaches and the casinos at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Rocky Neck State Park features camping, swimming and picnic areas along with numerous marinas and sportfishing companies.

The Niantic Bay Boardwalk is a one-mile (1.6 km) long walkway that runs parallel to Amtrak shoreline railroad tracks and spans the length of Niantic Bay from the Niantic River inlet to Hole-in-the-Wall municipal beach. It first opened to the public in 2005, but was closed from about 2011 due to a combination of Amtrak building a new railroad bridge across the Niantic River, which required a re positioning of the approach tracks and damage caused by Hurricane Irene in October 2011. The boardwalk fully re-opened to the public in March 2016.

The Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut is located in East Lyme's original public library on Main Street. The museum is aimed primarily at children ages infant to ten years old. The current public library is located on Society Road, away from Niantic.

The village of Niantic includes the beach communities of Attawan Beach, Black Point, Crescent Beach, Giants Neck Beach, Giants Neck Heights, Oak Grove Beach, Old Black Point, Pine Grove, and Saunder's Point.

Flanders

The village of Flanders, originally a farming area along the Old Post Road, gets its name from the development of woolen mills similar to that in Flanders, Belgium. The heart of the village is located at Flanders Four Corners which is the intersection of Chesterfield Road (Route 161) with the Boston Post Road (Route 1) This area is the site of many small stores and businesses, as well as East Lyme High School, Flanders Elementary School, and the Board of Education.

Flanders was the original center of the East Lyme society with dozens of 18th century homes, shops and public inns situated along the Boston Post Roads until the early 1800s. It losts its pre-eminence as Niantic began to flourish, first with the growth of commercial fishing and then with the construction of the Shore Line Railway. Many of the original Flanders homes have been lost as a result of the construction Interstate 95 in the 1950s and subsequent commercial construction at the Four Corners area. For example, the old Caulkins Tavern stood at the site of the current CVS and was a well traveled and documented stopping place in the 18th century from none other than Sarah Knight in his diary as well as General George Washington who stopped here with thousands of troops in 1776. Some homes remain closer to the Waterford line at the site of the old Beckwith Shipyard at the head of the Niantic River.

Other minor communities

Golden Spur is a community located at the head of the Niantic River, which earned it its other name, "Head of the River". In the eighteenth century it was the site of the Beckwith shipyard. By the turn of the 20th century it was the site of an amusement park accessible by trolley run by the East Lyme Street Railway. The park operated until 1924.

Topography

The topography of East Lyme consists of rolling hills and lush valleys rounded by glaciers during the last Ice Age. Hills rise to elevations of 250 to 350 feet (76 to 107 m) above sea level in the eastern and central areas of the town. The highest point in town is an unnamed hilltop with an elevation of 500 feet (150 m) located in Nehantic State Forest in the northwest corner of the town. East Lyme is especially scenic in the summer when the trees are in bloom. On its east and southern sides, the town abuts tidewater. The tidal Niantic River on the east feeds Niantic Bay, an arm of Long Island Sound, which forms the southern edge of the town.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	1,382	—
1860	1,506	9.0%
1870	1,506	0.0%
1880	1,731	14.9%
1890	2,048	18.3%
1900	1,836	−10.4%
1910	1,916	4.4%
1920	2,291	19.6%
1930	2,575	12.4%
1940	3,338	29.6%
1950	3,870	15.9%
1960	6,782	75.2%
1970	11,399	68.1%
1980	13,870	21.7%
1990	15,340	10.6%
2000	18,118	18.1%
2010	19,159	5.7%
2020	18,693	−2.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,118 people, 6,308 households, and 4,535 families residing in the town. The population density was 532.3 people per square mile (205.6/km²). There were 7,459 housing units at an average density of 219.2 per square mile (84.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 87.29% White, 6.37% African American, 0.44% Native American, 2.82% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.21% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.59% of the population.

There were 6,308 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $66,539, and the median income for a family was $74,430. Males had a median income of $53,333 versus $37,162 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,765. About 1.7% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005
Party		Active Voters	Inactive Voters	Total Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	3,004	659	3,663	26.30%
	Republican	2,678	671	3,349	24.05%
	Unaffiliated	5,509	1,407	6,916	49.66%
	Minor Parties	0	0	0	0.0%
Total		11,191	2,737	13,928	100%

Presidential Election Results
Year	Democratic	Republican	Third Parties
2020	62.0% 7,290	36.4% 4,285	1.6% 181
2016	54.0% 5,512	41.3% 4,214	4.7% 474
2012	57.6% 5,426	41.3% 3,886	1.1% 101
2008	60.4% 5,961	38.7% 3,819	0.9% 92
2004	56.1% 5,306	42.6% 4,030	1.3% 120
2000	52.4% 4,546	40.5% 3,513	7.1% 605
1996	48.9% 3,778	37.1% 2,870	14.0% 1,072
1992	40.9% 3,425	32.5% 2,717	26.6% 2,214
1988	44.6% 3,266	53.9% 3,954	1.5% 105
1984	36.0% 2,513	63.6% 4,438	0.4% 21
1980	31.9% 2,192	49.8% 3,419	18.3% 1,254
1976	41.3% 2,648	58.1% 3,727	0.6% 36
1972	30.7% 1,743	69.0% 3,918	0.3% 11
1968	39.2% 1,797	54.3% 2,491	6.5% 297
1964	56.8% 2,195	43.2% 1,674	0.00% 0
1960	35.1% 1,186	64.9% 2,198	0.00% 0
1956	24.4% 657	75.6% 2,036	0.00% 0

History

Thomas Lee House

The Thomas Lee House, built circa 1660, is the oldest house in Connecticut that is still in its primitive state. This building is located in the southwestern section of East Lyme, adjacent to Rocky Neck State Park, at the intersection of Connecticut Route 156 and Giants Neck Road. Co-located on this site is the one-room Little Boston Schoolhouse, which was relocated to its current location from across Route 156. The town features six homes from 1699 or earlier, and the Old Stone Church Burial Ground from 1719 located off Society and Riverview roads.

The area occupied by the town was originally inhabited by the Nehantic people, who maintained villages in the present-day Indian Woods section as well as on Black Point, in the McCooks Beach area and near the Niantic River. The tribe allied itself with the colonists in the 1636 war against the Pequot people. The Nehantic eventually died out in the mid-19th century. The 1750s Ezra Stiles map shows the Nehantic village in what is now Indian Woods as consisting of "12 or 13 huts".

East Lyme, then a part of Lyme, had several taverns which offered stopping places for travelers such as Sarah Kemble Knight. These included Calkins Tavern on what is now Boston Post Road, Royce's Tavern, and Taber Tavern near present-day I-95. At least 45 Revolutionary War veterans are buried within the borders of East Lyme, and countless more veterans from East Lyme found resting places in upstate New York, New Hampshire and Ohio. Moses Warren, along with General Samuel Holden Parsons originally of Lyme and Moses Cleaveland, set out to survey the Ohio Territory in the latter part of the 1790s and has Warren County, Ohio named after him.

Notable locations

Morton Freeman Plant Hunting Lodge - built in 1908, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Samuel Smith House - built in 1700, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Smith-Harris House - built in 1845, this Greek Revival home was added as the "Thomas Avery House" to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Thomas Lee House - built circa 1664, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. One of the oldest houses in the state.
William Gorton Farm - added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Beaches

Hole-in-the-Wall Beach in Niantic, looking west towards McCook Point

Public beaches

Rocky Neck State Park - a state park comprising East Beach and West Beach
McCook Park Beach - locally known as "McCooks", located on the western side of McCook Point Park, and immediately adjacent to the private Crescent Beach. This beach, along with its associated public park, was acquired by the town of East Lyme in 1953 from the estate of the McCook Family. This beach is open to the public, on a fee basis, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and is open free of charge during all other times. Access to this beach is controlled via locked gate. The normal park hours are 8:00 a.m. until dusk each day.
Hole-in-the-Wall Beach - an approximately 5-acre (2.0 ha) beach that adjoins McCook Point Park. It is open to the public, on a fee basis, between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The normal park hours are 8:00 a.m. until dusk. Access is through a walkway underneath railroad tracks used by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. The tunnel is located at the end of Baptist Lane. Free public parking is available, but entrance to the beach is monitored during the summer to ensure people entering have paid for access. It also provides access to the Niantic Beach Boardwalk that was built along the shoreline connecting with Railroad Beach. Known as the Niantic Bay Overlook, it is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long. The Overlook parallels the north shore of Niantic Bay and runs adjacent to the Northeast Corridor Amtrak line and consists of an elevated boardwalk and a level stone-dust-filled walkway.
Railroad Beach - the beach at the eastern end of the Niantic Bay Overlook, locally known as "Railroad Beach" due to its proximity with the Niantic Railroad Drawbridge and the Amtrak Northeast Corridor mainline. Access to this beach is from the Niantic Bay Overlook via Hole-in-the-Wall Beach or from Cini Park via the walkway under the railroad drawbridge. Due to ongoing Amtrak bridge construction the beach is currently not accessible to the public.

Private beaches

Crescent Beach - adjacent to McCooks; reserved for homeowners in the area
Oak Grove Beach
Black Point Beach - for members of the Black Point Beach Club Association
Old Black Point Beach - for homeowners in Old Black Point. Members of Old Black Point are not allowed on Black Point Beach, and vice versa.
Attawan Beach - adjacent to Black Point; for homeowners in the Attawan Beach Community
Giants Neck Beach
Giants Neck Heights Beach - for members of the Giants Neck Heights Association. Located at the southeastern end of the Rocky Neck beach. It features a jetty that is popular with local crabbers and amateur photographers - and seagulls who drop clams and mussels on the cement surface to crack them open for eating. Use of this beach is restricted to the approximately 400 homeowners of the Giants Neck Height Association.

Places of worship

Christ Lutheran Church; 24 Society Road, Niantic, CT 06357; Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
Lighthouse Assembly of God; 315 Flanders Road, East Lyme, CT 06333; Assemblies of God
Flanders Baptist Church; 138 Boston Post Road, East Lyme, CT 06333; Baptist
Saint Matthias Church; 317 Chesterfield Road, East Lyme, CT 06333; Roman Catholic
Saint Matthias Parish Center; 317 Chesterfield Road, East Lyme, CT 06333; Roman Catholic
Miracle Temple Church; 18 Dean Road, East Lyme, CT 06333; Non-denominational
Niantic Community Church; 170 Pennsylvania Avenue, Niantic CT 06357; United Methodist Church & United Church of Christ
Saint Agnes Church; 22 Haigh Avenue, Niantic, CT 06357; Roman Catholic
Niantic Baptist Church; 443 Main Street, Niantic, CT 06357; Baptist
Saint John's Episcopal Church; 400 Main Street, Niantic, CT 06357; Episcopal ...end comment-->

Economy

According to 2009 statistics 42.2 percent of the town's business was focused in the services industry. A service industry is a business that focuses on retail, food services, distribution, and transportation. The second largest sector is the trade industry with 23.1% of the town's business, followed by construction and mining which accounts for 12.5% of the town businesses.

The largest single employer in town is the state of Connecticut's Department of Corrections which runs two prisons in the west end of town: York Correctional Facility for women, which houses over 1,000 inmates and is staffed by over 500 personnel, and the Gates Correctional Institute for men, which houses about 900 inmates and is staffed by 288 people.

Notable people

William Colepaugh (1918–2005), Nazi sympathizer who grew up on Black Point and traveled to Germany in 1944 to be trained as a spy
Tom Danielson (1978-), professional cyclist for Team Garmin, finishing 8th in the 2011 Tour de France
Rajai Davis (1980-), Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians. Hit a game tying home run in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series against the ultimately victorious Chicago Cubs.
Charles Drake (real name Charles Ruppert) (1917–1994), actor in over 80 films and numerous television shows
Otto Graham (1921–2003), Hall of Fame professional football player
Anne Rogers Minor (1864-1947), artist, national president of the Daughters of the American Revolution from 1920 to 1923
Jay Allen Sanford, author and cartoonist best known as the co-creator of Rock 'N' Roll Comics, and for his work with Revolutionary Comics, Carnal Comics, and the San Diego Reader
Emily Steel, journalist at The New York Times, whose investigative work forced Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly out of the network in April 2017
James Stevenson (illustrator) (1929-2017). illustrator and author of over 100 children's books whose cartoons appear regularly in The New Yorker
Ed Toth, drummer currently with The Doobie Brothers, formerly with Vertical Horizon and Jennifer Culture
Vladimir Peter Tytla (1904–1968), known as Bill Tytla, one of the original Disney animators

Images for kids

East Lyme Cemetery

East Lyme, Connecticut facts for kids

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