
Saybrook Colony, founded 1635 when Lion Gardiner built Saybrook Fort at the Connecticut River's mouth, is the oldest officially-chartered settlement in Connecticut — a year older than Hartford.
Old Saybrook sits in Middlesex County where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound — about 10,500 people, one ZIP code (06475), and two lighthouses.
Why People Visit Old Saybrook Connecticut
- Relax at Harveys Beach, shallow waters and soft sand for easy family time on Long Island Sound.
- Walk Fort Saybrook Monument Park, interpretive signs marking the 1635 fort site near the marsh and the river mouth.
- Tour the General William Hart House (1767), a Federal-era home with period rooms and gardens reflecting eighteenth-century town life.
- Stroll Saybrook Point, boardwalks and marinas with views to Lynde Point Lighthouse (1803) at the river mouth.
- Visit the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center on Main Street, an intimate restored theater hosting year-round performances.
- Drive across the causeway to Fenwick borough, a quiet shoreline community of shingled houses on the peninsula between South Cove and the Sound.