| Town
Site - Public Schools -
Public Library - Visit -
Numbers You Need
 Branford
loyalists joyfully proclaim the bragging rights of their beloved town.
It is the most populous shoreline town between New Haven and New
London, with 30,000 citizens comfortably spread throughout its tidy twenty-five
square miles. Its centuries-old maritime history reveals its close relationship
to Long Island Sound. And, its granite quarries and former factories,
such as the Branford Lockworks and the Atlantic Wire Company, long ago
put the town on the map as a center of commerce and industry.
But all those attributes fade to mere statistics when compared to the
defining feature that distinguishes Branford from all other shoreline
towns: its unique and totally distinct villages and neighborhoods. From
the main village center to such enclaves as Branford Point, Stony Creek,
Short Beach and Pine Orchard, Branford offers up its charms in neat little
packages that are a delight to explore.
Branford Center is the hub of town life. Clustered around the green,
in existence since 1699, are its town hall, three nineteenth-century
churches, an ancient academy, and a tablet that marks the site where
ten clergymen met in 1701 to create the first library of the school now
called Yale University. These days residents and visitors meet here for
concerts, fairs, and such events as the Branford Festival, held every
Father's Day weekend since 1984.
Surrounding the green are trendy and traditional women's clothing boutiques,
ethnic markets, and great restaurants. Billy's Pasta Cosi, touted for
its fresh sauces and noodles, and Darbar of India, well known for its
luncheon buffets, are packed to full houses on most evenings. Across
the green is Le Petit Café, still the best French restaurant on
the shoreline, with excellent prix-fixe dinners prepared by Chef Roy
Ip. If a cuppa or a cone is more in order, stop at Common Grounds for
a rich Colombian blend or at Ashley's Ice Cream parlor for a creamy scoop
or two. All are within walking distance of the magnificent Blackstone
Library and the 1724 Harrison House, home to the Branford Historical
Society.
West of Branford Center lies Short Beach, lapped by the East Haven River
on its western boundary and by glimmering Granite Bay on the east and
Sound side. Late Branford poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox called Short Beach
her "Earthly Eden." A cozy warren of streets lined with modest
homes, it has a couple of vest-pocket parks, a few restaurants and markets,
and the Short Beach Preserve, one of the town's prettiest open-space
areas. Community pride is evident in Short Beach, especially on Labor
Day weekend at a festival called Short Beach Days, a revival of Illumination
Day, invented at the turn of the last century by Ella Wilcox.
Around the eastern shore of Granite Bay, on Harbor Street, lies the town
dock and Parker Memorial Park at Branford Point. The twelve-acre park
offers a beach and fishing pier, and the dock offers a place to fish
and to watch the maritime traffic at the Harborview overlook.
A return to the town green provides a link to Route 146, the designated
scenic highway that traces the coastline through Pine Orchard and Indian
Neck. From the green, Montowese Street slips under the railroad trestle
and crosses the causeway over the Branford River. A bit farther south
at Indian Neck, it swings westward along the shore. Just before that
turn is Lenny's Indian Head Inn, a restaurant with lush marsh views and
legendary fresh seafood. Nearby is Bud's Fish Market, which is happy
to provide take-home delights such as lobsters and the like. A detour
on Linden Avenue reveals an exquisite quality of light that can be savored
at the Owenego Inn, the last of Branford's summer hotels to capitalize
on sweeping views of the Sound. Today, it offers seasonal lodging, beach
and tennis club memberships, and warm welcome to the public.
Back out on Route 146, the coastal route heads eastward through Pine
Orchard to Stony Creek. Like Noank and Stonington, its fishing buddies
to the east, Stony Creek seems to exist in a time warp that occurs in
just a few towns between New York and New Bedford. A sense of New England's
nautical past and the time-honored work of trawling for nourishment from
the Sound can be gained along its narrow avenues. A peek into the backyards
reveals lobster traps and boat trailers, faded buoys and an occasional
net draped to dry on a fence.
Stony Creek history swells with tales of quarry life, pirates, and romances
of the sea, but today the village is mostly known for its Yankee charm
and its islands. Named for the thimbleberries that once flourished here,
the thirty-three Thimbles are the largest group of islands on the Sound.
The principal industry in the village, besides its small fishing fleet,
is the sightseeing businesses developed to take tourists to see the islands,
all held in private hands.
After a cruise, many visitors stop to eat and explore the few shops along
Thimble Islands Road. Way up on the corner of Route 146 is the charmingly
diverse Taken for Granite, which sells everything from garden ornaments
to lovely clothes and glittering costume jewelry. Stony Creek Antiques
provides old-fashioned mementos at mainly old-fashioned prices, and a
quirky favorite, Creekers Marine and Cuisine, sells tackle along with
its seafood and sandwiches. Stony Creek Market makes wraps and pizzas
that can be enjoyed on its deck overlooking the harbor.
Some folks stop to see the village's vintage homes or the church with
its castellated tower of Stony Creek granite; others settle on the town
beach or at Bayview Park's sand-carpeted playground. Still others may
be lucky to hear the Stony Creek Fife and Drum Corps, which has performed
patriotic music here and away for 120 years. Lots of folks walk the Stony
Creek Trolley Trail off West Point Road; it provides a mile-long pathway
in the former bed of a trolley track through the marshlands. Real through-hikers
can attempt the 28-mile Branford Trail, which laces through every village
and neighborhood in town. Some of those paths lead to the lovely Supply
Ponds preserve, honored by a Coastal America Partnership Award in recognition
of its remarkable alewives’ fishway.
Each of these neighborhoods has its own character and personality, and
the residents of each express abiding affection for whichever of these
villages they inhabit. Ask them where they live and they might say Stony
Creek or Short Beach, but ask them to name their hometown, and they'll
all say, "Branford."
By Doe Boyle
Photo by Edwina Stevenson
|
© 2002-2008 Distinctive Directories,
LLC
Contact Us