The water that fed the oystermen now carries sailboats. In May 1888 a retired Civil War captain named George I. Tyson built a clubhouse on his own waterfront on the eastern shore of Cos Cob Harbor, at the mouth of the Mianus, and founded the Riverside Yacht Club — the second-oldest yacht club in Connecticut and among the oldest in the United States. Its Victorian clubhouse went up the next year, and the club has been racing on Long Island Sound ever since. Sailcloth, brass, and harbor-grey: this is Riverside’s prevailing weather.
Today Riverside is barely two square miles of winding lanes and waterfront between Cos Cob and Old Greenwich, split by Interstate 95 and the Boston Post Road and threaded by the Metro-North line that built it. The c.1760 Samuel Ferris House, the Ferris family’s old Cape farmhouse, still stands near the Post Road. It is a quiet, patrician corner of the Gold Coast — sailboats off the harbor, the old cast-iron bridge, and a farmhouse-to-mansion arc along the Mianus River.
Why People Visit Riverside
Riverside rewards visitors who like the quiet, watery side of the Gold Coast: sailboats on the Mianus, shaded streets, and a handful of real landmarks close together. Add the Sound-side parks and the easy ride to the city, and the genteel calm makes its own case.
