Our Westbrook logo carries Connecticut's oyster shell over "Connecticut · Est. 1636," tying the town to the colonial founding of Connecticut — the shared emblem of every Merlin Classics Connecticut place. Printed black-and-white with the worn look of an old oyster-crate label, the shell reads as the shoreline in shorthand: tidal, maritime, salt-aired. What makes this one Westbrook is the story behind it — the Oyster River, the Sound, and the birthplace of the submarine.
Then the inventor vanished. After the war and a failed venture in France, Bushnell dropped from public life entirely — and resurfaced, years later, in Georgia as "Dr. David Bush," a quiet country physician and teacher. Only after his death in Warrenton in 1824 did neighbors learn that the doctor down the road had invented the submarine. His hometown never forgot: the old red Bushnell homestead near the village is kept today as his memorial.
Why People Visit Westbrook
Westbrook offers quiet shoreline New England with a remarkable story beneath it. Visitors come for the beaches, the marsh and harbor, the historic town center, and the distinction of standing in the birthplace of the submarine. It's low-key, scenic, and steeped in Long Island Sound maritime heritage.
