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A visual guide with labels for each of the 42 quilt squares

Image of the Bicentennial Quilt at Essex Library Association

The first public library in Essex was established about 1889. An Essex resident, Dr. Russell, gave the use of a room at his offices, rent free, and donated 50 books. In 1895 a fair was held by the Library Association and sufficient money was…

What is now known as the Ivoryton Store on Main Street in the village of Ivoryton, began as a partnership between Franklin M. Rose and Theodore F. Rose, under the firm name of Rose Brothers. This partnership was formed in March 1878 when they bought…

"For about seventy-five years, our forefathers in this vicinity traveled to the southern part of Saybrook for religious worship. Saybrook, first settled by the English in 1635, was bounded on the south by Long Island Sound, on the north by Haddam,…

Those who live in Essex, and visitors, who find their way to the foot of Main Street, know the joy of the webfooted, feathered friends who inhabit the small area of the waterfront between the Dickinson boathouse and the town dock. The large group of…

During the war of 1812, part of the British fleet was detailed to cruise Long Island Sound in order, among other things, to blockade New London Harbor. The commander of that fleet suspected the ship-owners of Essex of having a conspiracy to destroy…

The real origins of sailboat racing on the Connecticut River date back to the early 1900's when shad fishermen raced their "dragnet" boats informally each spring. However it was the Great Depression that provided the impetus for organized dinghy…

The Connecticut Valley Railroad, chartered in 1868, was built in 1870-1871. The construction was completed for the first run, from Hartford to Saybrook, on July 29, 1871. Ulysses S. Grant was in the White House and the first transcontinental…

The Dolly Madison made her first trips on the Connecticut River in 1964, after having spent two years on the Potomac River as an excursion boat from Washington, D.C., to Mount Vernon, Virginia. Together with her sister ship , the Martha Washington,…