Thimble Islands

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The Thimble Islands are an archipelago of small islands in Long Island Sound, in and near the harbor of Stony Creek, Connecticut in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut, 41°15′52″N, 72°45′11″W. Known to the Mattabeseck Indians as "the beautiful sea rocks," they consist of a jumble of granite rocks, ledges and outcroppings resulting from glaciation, numbering between 100 and 365 depending on where the line is drawn between an island and a mere rock. The islands serve as a rest stop for migrating seals. Some of the shoreline residences in nearby the Stony Creek and Pine Orchard sections of Branford have a spectacular view of the Thimbles. Although they are said to be named for the thimbleberry, a relative of the black raspberry, that plant is seldom seen in the area, and is more frequent in northern New England. Other species of blackberry and raspberry, however, are sometimes referred to by residents of the area as thimbleberries.

The first European to discover the islands was Adrian Block in 1614. Legend says that Captain Kidd buried his treasure here, causing intermittent interest among treasure hunters who believe they have unearthed a clue to its location, although more interest is generally paid to Gardiner's Island, 30 miles away.

The islands themselves - long prized by sailors on the Sound as a sheltered deep-water anchorage - comprise 23 that are inhabited (most of them wooded), numerous barren rocks and hundreds of reefs visible only at low tide.

Horse Island, the largest island at 17 acres (69,000 m²), is owned by Yale University and is maintained as an ecological laboratory by Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History. Southern Connecticut State University keeps Outer Island for similar purposes, and Frisbie Island is maintained as a sanctuary for wild birds. Bear Island is home to a granite quarry, which exported high-quality stone to such constructions as the Lincoln Memorial, Grant's Tomb, and the base of the Statue of Liberty. A much larger quarry just north on the mainland is still working, and supplied the distinctive pink/orange Stony Creek granite for the Brooklyn Bridge and the newest House of Representatives Legislative Office Building in Washington.

The inhabited islands bear a total of 81 houses: 14 islands have only one, one (Governor) has 14, one (Money) has 32, and the rest have between two and six. The houses are built in a variety of styles, ranging from a 27-room Tudor mansion, with tennis and basketball courts and a caretaker's residence on 7.75 acres on Rogers Island, to small summer cottages built on stilts or small clusters of buildings connected by wooden footbridges. Some of the houses cover a small island completely, while Money Island, 12 acres (49,000 m²) in size, bears an entire village of 32 houses, a church and post office buildings, concealed among tall trees. Some of the houses were once occupied year-long, but now are only used in the summer. The exposed nature of the houses makes them dangerous during storms; local residents still talk about the hurricane of 1938, which killed seven people. The exclusivity of the houses has made them quite expensive, therefore residents are divided between local families who have owned their homes for generations, and more recent residents who tend to be wealthy. The least expensive houses, on Money Island, are appraised at about $600,000. Current and past well-known residents of the islands range from General Tom Thumb on Cut in Two Island East to Garry Trudeau, Doonesbury cartoonist and Jane Pauley, broadcast journalist. President William Taft established his "Summer White House" on Davis Island for two years. Residents of the area tend to protect the privacy of island dwellers, obeying the 5-mile-an-hour speed limit for motorboats and never landing without an invitation.

Only six islands get electrical power through underwater cables from the shore; the rest utilize some combination of generator, solar power, batteries or kerosene and propane. About half the islands get fresh water through underwater pipes from shore; the rest utilize wells or rainwater, or have containers of water delivered. No sewers serve the islands, requiring the use of septic tanks for all sewage treatment.

Sailing through the islands can be tricky for those unfamiliar with the area, because of the disorientation caused by the myriad of similar islands (particularly at night), the hidden underwater rocks and ledges, and the complex currents caused by the tides acting on the channels between the rocks.

In the warm season, a small ferry transports people and goods between the islands and the Stony Creek harbor on the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Prior to the advent of telephones, islanders would hang a red flag on the dock to request a ferry visit. An on-call water taxi has recently been added, and three tour boats take passengers on scenic cruises; kayak tours are also available. Many residents have their own boats, and some occasionally arrive by seaplane.

Some of the Thimble Islands large enough to have names include Hen Island, Money Island, East Stooping Bush Island, Potato Island, Smith Island, Cut in Two Island (East and West), Governor Island, tiny Phelps Island, High Island, Rogers Island (also known as Yon Comis Island], Wheeler Island aka Ghost Island, Mother in Law Island aka Prudden Island, Pot Island, Horse Island, West Crib Island, East Crib Island, Little Pumpkin Island, Davis Island, Lewis Island, Kidd's Island, Outer Island, Reel Island, Beldens Island, Burr Island, Frisbie Island, Jepson Island, Wayland Island and Bear Island.

In 1976, party goods magnate John Svenningsen of Amscan purchased West Crib Island. After his death in 1997, his widow Christine Svenningsen purchased Wheeler Island in 1998, followed by Rogers, Phelps, Jepson, and Cut in Two East in 2003, Reel in 2004, Cut in Two West in 2005 and Beldens at a total cost of about $33 million,^[1] thus making her owner of more than 20% of the habitable islands and the largest taxpayer in Stony Creek. Locals speculate on any motivation other than simple love of the islands, but approve of her meticulous upkeep and restorations of the properties.

Recent Selling Prices of Thimble Islands

Year	1976	1998	2003	2003	2003	2003	2004	2005	2006
Island	West Crib	Wheeler	Rogers	Phelps	Jepson	Cut in Two East	Reel	Cut in Two West	Beldens
Price	$131,500	$520,000	$22,300,000	$1,000	$1,400,000	$3,400,000	$100,000	$2,400,000	$2,770,000

As outcroppings of the granite bedrock which were once the tops of hills but have become islands with the rise in sea level after the most recent ice age, the Thimble Islands are much more stable than most of the islands in Long Island Sound, which are terminal moraines of rubble left by retreating glaciers.

As with most of southern New England, the ecology of even the wildest sections of the islands are not undisturbed indigenous flora and fauna, but are the result of thousands of years of intermittent human occupancy; one particularly intrusive event being the toppling of all the trees on every island during the American Revolutionary War in order to eliminate any hiding places for British ships. The plant species of the islands were extensively studied by Yale botanist Lauren Brown; although the islands represent a unique ecological niche, combining a thin layer of soil, a high concentration of salt and extreme exposure to weather, no unique, unusual or rare plant species have been found; instead, the shrubs and trees represented are generally similar to those on the nearby mainland, selecting only those which reproduce by berries or other fruit carried by birds to the islands, for example raspberries, blackberries, sassafras, cherries, etc. The exception to this is large stands of pitch pine, whose airborne seeds are apparently able to travel the distance from the mainland. Poison ivy has established itself in many sites on the islands, in some places thick enough to essentially eliminate entire areas from human contact. In marked contrast to the mainland, oaks are particularly absent, even though blue jays are capable of ingesting acorns and carrying them from place to place. Nevertheless, some infrequent oak, maple, beech and other trees do appear in scattered locations about the islands; from their locations they appear to be deliberately planted by residents, or the descendants of such plantings. Other cultivated plants, such as ivy and some types of climbing roses, have established themselves on the islands to the point of becoming invasive species.

Mammals other than human beings are generally not found on the islands; although a rare squirrel or deer is reported seen, they appear to be isolated arrivals, and no mammalian populations have established themselves other than bats, voles and some mouse and rat infestations closely associated with the human habitations. Snakes are occasionally sighted; it is not know whether they arrived on their own, or were carried in as stowaways with loads of cargo.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• "Wealthy Widow Buying Up Thimbles", New Haven Register, January 22, 2006, page A1.
• "Living Half a Mile Off the Coast"; Stacey Stowe; New York Times, July 30, 2006; Real Estate page 10.
• "Another 'Thimble Island' sells at a bargain", New Haven Register, December 4, 2006, page A1.
• Brown, L., and Sharp, P.C. (1986) The Vegetation of the Thimble Islands