Stonington Borough, at land's end of south eastern Connecticut, seems to be a place where the tumult of our current lives cannot intrude. It is hidden away, after all, on a New England corner that reaches into a body of water known as Little Narragansett Bay.
It is a small village of houses and buildings that date back to the 1700's. Most are well preserved, though they retain the character of earlier times. There are well to do residents living in multi-million dollar homes and the firmly middle class who derive their wages as fishermen, marina hands and shopkeepers.
They mix easily at Noah's restaurant and borough coffee shops.
Water Street is the main street.
Main St. is the next block over.
On Water Street you can feel the maritime history of Connecticut. Some of the old houses are named after their original owners and list their occupations. Attorney. Speculator. Captain.
As you walk or drive toward Stonington Point you pass an old factory building that is now condominiums and just before dubois Beach there is Stonington Light, commissioned in 1840. It's now a museum.
Homes are clad in the worn gray and white and brown and yellowed shingles so familiar in coastal communities. Others are painted in the pastel colors of the sea and sky at sunrise. Roses, clematis, hydrangeas, lilies and iris burst through white picket fencing and crawl up the outside walls of houses scenting the oak and maple shade of quiet streets.
Here it is always summer. The sea is one block away. Your imagination softly pulls you toward the deep roiling gray ocean.
© Dean Pagani - June 2020
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© Dean Pagani 2020