Simply Ledyard CT

Ledyard Photo Friday – 10 Allyn Lane

Now a private home, this building in Gales Ferry Village, once housed the Gales Ferry Fire Department.  Built originally in 1942, the fire house was ironically destroyed by fire in 1948, and then rebuilt that same year. 

George A. Bailey House of 1844 - Hurlbutt Road

Like many of the original owners of the homes in Gales Ferry Village, George Bailey was a sea captain. Over the years, this home was owned by many familiar Ledyard names, like Allyn, Chapman, and Avery. The Ledyard Historical Society describes this architechure as a modified Greek revival. I love it for the wrap around porch!

 

Harvard or Yale in Gales Ferry this weekend?

It is the oldest collegiate athletic competition in the nation.  Sports Illustrated has called it "the most venerable rivalry in college sports".  Gales Ferry, CT is home to it all. The Thames  River has been the location of all but 5 races since 1878.   The 145th race will take place this Saturday, May 29th. 

The colleges first raced in 1852, and in 1878 the race was moved to the Thames River.  Both crews maintain camp in Gales Ferry - Harvard at Red Top on Military Highway and Yale at the end of Hurlbutt Road.  In the early 1900's over 100,000 spectators would view the race from yachts and observation trains on both sides of the river.  The glory days of the race are over but it is still well attended each year with plenty of people watching from the shore and from the water.  There are 3 rowing competitions including the varsity race of 4 miles, the longest race in the western hemisphere.

If you search their websites, Harvard calls the race the Harvard-Yale Regatta, while Yale prefers the Yale-Harvard Regatta. Either way, each year, the young men of Harvard and Yale arrive in "the Ferry" just after their final exams.

Harvard has won the race 3 years in a row. This year they have 5 sophomores competing and if they win again, it surely won’t bode well for Yale.

*Photo of the Yale Boat House taken this winter.

Ledyard Photo Friday - Sawmill Park

The Town of Ledyard owns the 11–acre Sawmill Park, which includes a water powered up-down saw, shingle mill, blacksmith shop, a gristmill, ice harvesting equipment, and other mill artifacts of the Industrial Revolution.  The mill museum is located in an 1860 restored building.  The saw mill is operational from April-May and October-November. The park with two-acre pond is open year round and on this day, I found a few fishermen on the shore.

Lambtown Road in Ledyard

I happen to think that Lambtown Road is one of the prettiest roads in Ledyard.  This is just another of many photos I’ve taken along the road. I’m sure the accent color is a bit shocking to purists but it makes me smile. I’m guessing this one must have some history but I can’t find it in any of the books written by the Ledyard Historical Society. If you have a clue, I’d love to know!

947 Colonel Ledyard Highway

This home on Colonel Ledyard Highway was in the Geer family until 1996. Although records don’t exist to show an exact date of construction, a chimney brick in the home shows a date of 1769.

Information from Historic Ledyard, Volume III published by the Ledyard Historical Society

The Geer Hill Schoolhouse – Ledyard Photo Friday

This one room school house on Colonel Ledyard Highway was built in 1813 and according to a Ledyard Historical Society publication, stands today on the site of a “20 foot square of land” donated by the Geer Family in 1735.

Hurlbutt Road in Gales Ferry

The RE/MAX Realty Group office is located on Hurlbutt Road in the Gales Ferry section of Ledyard.  And yes, the street name has been the "butt" of a number of jokes.  The Hurlbut (with one t) family is given prominent mention in the Ledyard Historic District Commissions Bicentennial Project written in 1976. It appears that the Hurlbuts played an important part in the growth of Gales Ferry Village. John Hurlbut was a wealthy man and when he died left a pretty impressive housing inventory including his own homestead plus two other farms, and a coopers shop.  He also left an estate valued at 2376 pounds.   It was his son Ralph who decided to add the "t" to the Hurlbutt name because he "thought it finished it off".  The RE/MAX Realty Group office, built in 1929, sits on land the Hurlbutt's owned and was formerly the parsonage of the Gales Ferry Methodist Church where Ralph Hurbutt once preached.

I believe most of us with a Hurbutt street address would have preferred he not add that extra "t".  I'm not sure what Ralph was thinking.

Yale in Gales Ferry

Now the varsity quarters of the Yale Crew, this home in Gales Ferry Village was built around 1796. Since that time many additions have been added by the Yale Athletic Association. The building is used during training  for the annual Yale Harvard Regatta, America's oldest collegiate athletic competition, first held in 1852.

Morgan Pond Cemetery

Circa 1771 - Located on Sandy Hollow Road in Ledyard CT

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