Stonington Borough
Stonington, CT
Stonington Borough is a historic fishing village at the tip of a narrow peninsula jutting into Fishers Island Sound. The village retains its 18th- and 19th-century character with clapboard houses, stone walls, and a working harbor. It is one of the last remaining commercial fishing fleets in Connecticut.
Photography Guide
- Best Time
- morning
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Shot Types
- widedetailportraitlandscape
- Best Seasons
- springsummerfall
Author's Comments
The borough is a peninsula barely a half mile long, and you can walk it end to end in twenty minutes if you do not stop. You will stop. There is a particular quality to a New England fishing village that has not been entirely converted into something else, and Stonington still has it. The fleet still goes out. The houses on Water Street are still houses, weathered clapboard pressed close to the road in the way that streets were built before cars, and the stone walls between them have the irregular dignity of work done by hand a long time ago. I like to be here at first light in early September. The fishing boats come back into the town dock with the sun still low, and the water in the inner harbor goes silver before it goes blue. The rest of the village is mostly asleep at that hour, which is the point. Walk to the end of Water Street where the peninsula tapers and Long Island Sound opens out in front of you. There is a small park there, and a view that does not photograph easily but stays with you anyway. What I value most about this place is what it is not. It is not curated. The working waterfront is actually working, the gear stacked on the docks is in use, and the village has resisted the particular kind of preservation that turns a place into a stage set. Bring a wide lens for the harbor and a longer one for the boats and the gulls. Mostly, bring time. This is a place to walk slowly and let the morning come up around you.
Gallery
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Nearby Places
Stonington, CT
Stonington Lighthouse Museum
The Old Lighthouse Museum occupies an 1823 granite lighthouse at the southern tip of Stonington Point. The tower provides 360-degree views encompassing Fishers Island Sound, Watch Hill, and the Connecticut coastline. The lighthouse is the southernmost point in Stonington Borough.
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Mystic River Bascule Bridge
The Mystic River Bascule Bridge is a historic drawbridge built in 1922 that spans the Mystic River in the center of Mystic village. The bridge opens on a regular schedule to allow boat traffic, creating a dynamic scene as vehicles wait and sailboats pass through. The bridge and surrounding waterfront buildings define the character of downtown Mystic.
Mystic, CT
Mystic Seaport Museum
Mystic Seaport is the nation's largest maritime museum, featuring a recreated 19th-century coastal village along the Mystic River. The museum houses the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world, along with hundreds of historic vessels. The preserved buildings, working shipyard, and tall ship masts create an atmospheric setting.