Old Saybrook

Variant name of place

Sea Brook; Seabrook; Say=brook

Geographic position

41.2939° N, 72.3825° W

Sources

http://www.oldsaybrookct.org/pages/oldsaybrookct_about/living_history. http://pequotwar.org/2013/05/overview-siege-and-battle-of-saybrook-fort/. Bushman, Richard L. From Puritan to Yankee: Character and Social Order in Connecticut, 1690-1765. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1980. Web. Geo coordinates from https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Old+Saybrook%2C+CT+Geographic+Coordinates.

General note

Old Saybrook is a town located in southeastern Connecticut on the west bank of the Connecticut River, where it meets the Long Island Sound. The land that would become Old Saybrook was the territory of the Niantic Indians until the late 16th century when they were conquered by the Pequots. The first Europeans to settle in the area were Dutch, but by 1623 the colony failed due to harsh conditions. In 1635, English Puritans led by John Winthrop Jr. established a colony called Saybrook Plantation, hoping to deter the return of the Dutch. During the Pequot War of 1636, the powerful Pequot tribe conducted a siege of Saybrook Fort for eight months, but their population was ultimately decimated by the effort. Yale University, originally called Collegiate School of Connecticut, was founded in Old Saybrook in 1700 and then moved to New Haven in 1718. Because of its location, Old Saybrook was a convenient stopping point for Occom on his trips between Mohegan and Montauk, on Long Island, and was a point of embarkation for travel to other coastal cities by water. At least one Native American in Old Saybrook, the son of Josiah Wolcott, wanted to attend Wheelock’s school. Old Saybrook is one of the oldest towns in the state and was incorporated in 1854.