| East Lyme, Connecticut | |||
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| — Town — | |||
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| Location in New London County, Connecticut | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Connecticut | ||
| NECTA | Norwich-New London | ||
| Region | Southeastern Connecticut | ||
| Incorporated | 1839 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Selectman-town meeting | ||
| • First selectman | Paul Formica | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 42.0 sq mi (108.8 km2) | ||
| • Land | 34.0 sq mi (88.1 km2) | ||
| • Water | 7.9 sq mi (20.6 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 210 ft (64 m) | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| • Total | 18,459 | ||
| • Density | 543/sq mi (210/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 06333, 06357 | ||
| Area code(s) | 860 | ||
| FIPS code | 09-23400 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0213426 | ||
| Website | www.eltownhall.com | ||
East Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,118 at the 2000 census. The latitude of East Lyme is 41.353N. The longitude is -72.23W.
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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) of it is land and 7.9 square miles (20 km2) of it (18.89%) is water.
The town consists primarily of two villages: the village of Flanders, and the village of 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's 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.
The Village of Niantic gets its name from the Nehantic Indians 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.[1]
Sportsfishing and marinas predominate the village's industry along with summer tourism and restaurant trade. Strong regional businesses include seafood restaurants and hotels/motels servicing 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 sportsfishing companies.
The Niantic Bay Boardwalk is a popular place for tourists and locals to walk. When it was built it was one mile (1.6 km) long, spanning the length of Niantic Bay. Currently it is only half of that length with access only from the town's Hole-in-the-Wall Beach. The truncation is due to Amtrak building of a new railroad bridge across the mouth of the Niantic River, which involves changing the path of the railroad tracks leading up to the new bridge. The boardwalk will be rebuilt by Amtrak as part of the bridge construction program.[2]
The existing Niantic River Bridge is a historic railroad bridge built in 1907 by the King Bridge Company.[3]
The Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut was founded in 1991 and is located in East Lyme's original public library on Main Street. The popular museum is open year-round and is aimed primarily at children ages infant to ten years old. It is a favorite among southeastern Connecticut residents as well as many visitors from all over the state and country.
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.
The Village of Flanders gets its name from Flanders, Belgium, due to the fact that in what was originally a farming area along the Old Post Road, a cottage textile industry developed similar to that in Flanders, Belgium. The part of Flanders most referred to is Flanders four-corners, which is the intersection of Chesterfield Road (Route 161) with the Boston Post Road (Route 1) that is the site of many small stores and businesses.
The geology of East Lyme consists of rolling hills and lush valleys formed by glaciers carving through the bedrock. East Lyme is especially scenic in the summer when the trees are in bloom. The town abuts the Niantic bay, fed by the Niantic River, and the Long Island Sound.
As of the census[4] 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[5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% | |
The town's public schools are operated by the East Lyme School District.
The school district consists of one high school, East Lyme High School; one middle school, East Lyme Middle School (grades 5-8); and three elementary schools:
The East Lyme High School has been recognized by both Newsweek Magazine[6] as one of the top 1,000 high schools in the country and the U.S. News and World Report[7] as one of the top 500 high schools in America.
The East Lyme High School also hosts the East Lyme Aquatic & Fitness Center. The center contains an eight-lane, 25-yard (23 m) long, competition swimming and diving pool, and a fitness facility with Nautilus equipment, free weights, and a cardiovascular line. The facility is used by high school swimming and diving teams as well as being open to the public, on a fee basis, when not in use by the school. Students from the neighboring town of Salem also attend East Lyme High School.
The East Lyme Middle School[8] is a 1999–2000 National Blue Ribbon School and a 2004 New England League of Middle Schools Spotlight School. It includes a high tech computer lab and a spacious library.
The Middle School uses a team program called Kivas. A kiva contains a science teacher, a language arts or English teacher, a social studies teacher and a math teacher. Some kivas are smaller and have a math and science teacher and a language arts and social studies teacher. There are 11 kivas. There is also two different types Multi age looping and two year looping. The last kiva is a World language kiva where students can study French or Spanish.
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. The school house was relocated to its current location from across CT Route 156. The town features no less than 6 homes from 1699 or earlier. and the Old Stone Church Burial Ground from 1719 located off Society & Riverview Roads.
The area occupied by the town was originally inhabited by the Nehantic Indians who maintained villages in the modern day Indian Woods section as well as on Black Point, McCooks Beach area and near the Niantic River. The tribe allied itself with the colonists in the 1636 war against the Pequot Indians the Nehantic eventually died out in the mid-19th century. The 1750s Ezra Stiles map shows the village in modern day Indian Woods of the Nehantic people as was described as "12 or 13 huts".
East Lyme, then a part of Lyme, had severals taverns which offered stopping places for travelers such as Sarah Kemble Knight. These included Calkins Tavern on modern day Boston Post Road, Royce's Tavern, and Taber Tavern near modern day I-95. No fewer than 23 Revolutionary War Veterans are buried within the borders of East Lyme and countless more 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.[9]
The first library was started in 1888 and was called the Niantic Library and Reading Room Association. There were 65 founding members. In 1897 the library was formally incorporated as "The Niantic Public Library Association" by the State of Connecticut. The library moved a few times until a permanent structure was built in 1920 on Main St. In 1966 a wing was added, and in 1979 another addition was added. In 1990 the library moved into the new Community Center/Library complex, where it exists today.
FM station WNLC is based in East Lyme.
According to 2009 statistics[10] 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.[11] 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 the 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.[12] and the Gates Correctional Institute for men, which houses about 900 inmates and is staffed by 288 people.[13]
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