East Lyme is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

New London County New London County is in the southeastern corner of Connecticut and comprises the Norwich-New London, Connecticut Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut Combined Statistical Area. There i ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, United States. The

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

was 18,693 at the 2020 census. The villages of

Niantic Niantic may refer to: * Niantic people, tribe of American Indians * Niantic, Inc., mobile app developer known for the mobile games ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go'' Ships * ''Niantic'' (whaling vessel), relic of San Francisco Gold Rush *USS ''Ni ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

are located in the town.

Geography

East Lyme is located in southern New London County, west of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

and Montville, east of Lyme and

Old Lyme Old Lyme is a coastal town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The main street of the town, Lyme Street, is a historic district with several homes once owned by sea captains. Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is located in Old Lyme and the ...

, and south of Salem.

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

is to the south. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 19%, is water.

Villages

The town consists primarily of two villages, Flanders and

. It is common for the town of East Lyme to be erroneously called "Niantic", due to this side of town being the "beach" side which is popular with tourists and visitors in the summer months. Niantic's population doubles in the summer months for the beach season, and it has a much higher density than the more sparsely populated Flanders side of town, which is known for its apple orchards, the town's high school, and the forest.

Niantic

The village of Niantic gets its name from the

or Nehantic people, whose ranging grounds once extended from Wecapaug Brook, in what is now

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, to the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

. Shortly before the first settlers arrived, the

Pequots The Pequot () are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or t ...

had invaded Nehantic territory and annexed about half of the land claimed by the tribe. According to local historian Olive Tubbs Chendali:

It was the construction of the railroad in 1851 that lured people to the shoreline which up to this time had been known - not as Niantic - but as "The Bank". Long before this time, however, as evidenced by ''The Diary of Joshua Hempstead - 1711 - 1758'' it was known as "Nahantick" "Nyantick" or "Nehantic", the home territory of the Nehantic Indians.

Sportfishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...

and

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

s dominate the village's industry along with summer tourism and restaurant trade. Strong regional businesses include seafood restaurants and hotels/motels serving the town's beaches and the casinos at

Foxwoods Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more t ...

and

Mohegan Sun Mohegan Sun is an American casino, owned and operated by the Mohegan Tribe on of their reservation, along the banks of the Thames River in Uncasville, Connecticut. It has of gambling space. It is in the foothills of southeastern Connecticut, ...

Rocky Neck State Park Rocky Neck State Park is a public recreation area on Long Island Sound in the town of East Lyme, Connecticut, United States. The state park's include a tidal river, a broad salt marsh, white sand beaches, rocky shores, and a large stone pavili ...

features camping, swimming and picnic areas along with numerous marinas and sportfishing companies. The Niantic Bay Boardwalk is a one-mile (1.6 km) long walkway that runs parallel to

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

’s shoreline railroad tracks and spans Niantic Bay from the

Niantic River The Niantic River is a mainly tidal river in eastern Connecticut. It is crossed by the Niantic River Bridge carrying Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. It separates the towns of East Lyme and Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , ma ...

inlet to Hole-in-the-Wall municipal beach. It first opened to the public in 2005, but was closed from about 2011 due to a combination of Amtrak building a new railroad bridge across the Niantic River, which required a re-positioning of the approach tracks, and damage caused by

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 At ...

in October 2011. The boardwalk fully re-opened to the public in March 2016. The Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut is located in East Lyme's original public library on Main Street. The museum is aimed primarily at children ages infant to ten years old. The current public library is located on Society Road, away from Niantic. The village of Niantic includes the beach communities of Attawan Beach, Black Point, Crescent Beach, Giants Neck Beach, Giants Neck Heights, Oak Grove Beach, Old Black Point, Pine Grove, and Saunder's Point.

Flanders

The village of Flanders, originally a farming area along the Old Post Road, gets its name from the development of woolen mills similar to that in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The heart of the village is located at Flanders Four Corners at the intersection of Chesterfield Road ( Route 161) and

Boston Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...

( Route 1). This area is the site of many small stores and businesses, as well as

East Lyme High School East Lyme High School is a 9-12 high school in the Flanders Village region of East Lyme, Connecticut, United States. The school serves students from the towns of East Lyme and Salem, Connecticut Salem is a town in New London County, Connecticu ...

, Flanders Elementary School, and the Board of Education. Flanders was the original center of East Lyme society with dozens of 18th century homes, shops and public inns situated along the Boston Post Road until the early 1800s. It lost its pre-eminence as Niantic began to flourish, first with the growth of commercial fishing and then with the construction of the Shore Line Railway. Many of the original Flanders homes have been lost as a result of the construction of Interstate 95 in the 1950s and subsequent commercial construction at the Four Corners area. For example, the old Caulkins Tavern stood at the site of the current CVS and was a well-traveled and documented stopping place in the 18th century from none other than

Sarah Kemble Knight Sarah Kemble Knight (April 19, 1666 – September 25, 1727) was a teacher and businesswoman, who is remembered for a brief diary of a journey from Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, to New York City, Province of New York, in 1704–1705, which prov ...

in her diary, as well as General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, who stopped here with thousands of troops in 1776. Some homes remain closer to the Waterford line at the site of the old Beckwith Shipyard at the head of the Niantic River.

Other minor communities

Golden Spur is a community located at the head of the Niantic River, which earned it its other name, "Head of the River". In the eighteenth century it was the site of the Beckwith shipyard. By the turn of the 20th century it was the site of an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

accessible by trolley run by the East Lyme Street Railway. The park operated until 1924.

Topography

The

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

of East Lyme consists of rolling hills and lush valleys rounded by glaciers during the last Ice Age. Hills rise to elevations of above sea level in the eastern and central areas of the town. The highest point in town is Mount Pisgah with an elevation of located in Nehantic State Forest in the northwest corner of the town. East Lyme is especially scenic in the summer when the trees are in bloom. On its east and southern sides, the town abuts tidewater. The tidal

on the east feeds Niantic Bay, an arm of

, which forms the southern edge of the town.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 18,118 people, 6,308 households, and 4,535 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 7,459 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 87.29%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 6.37%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.44% Native American, 2.82%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1.21% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.83% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4.59% of the

. There were 6,308 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

for a household in the town was $66,539, and the median income for a family was $74,430. Males had a median income of $53,333 versus $37,162 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $28,765. About 1.7% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

The town's public schools are operated by the

East Lyme School District East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. The school district consists of one high school,

; one middle school, East Lyme Middle School (grades 5–8); and three elementary schools: *Flanders Elementary School (grades Pre-K–4), *Lillie B. Haynes Elementary School (grades Pre-K–4), and *Niantic Center School (grades K–4).

has been recognized by ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' magazine as one of the top 1,000 high schools in the country and by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 500 high schools in the United States. In 2017, the East Lyme High School earned a National Blue Ribbon Distinction by U.S. Department of Education. The awards are for schools that continue to show high achievement or make strong progress toward closing achievements gaps.

hosts th
East Lyme Aquatic & Fitness Center
The center contains an eight-lane, , competition swimming and diving pool, and a fitness facility with Nautilus equipment, free weights, and a cardiovascular line. The facility is used by high school swimming and diving teams as well as being open to the public, on a fee basis, when not in use by the school. East Lyme High School athletic teams have recently won the Class L State Championships in girls volleyball for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and reached the Class M State Finals in girls tennis in 2012. The baseball team also reached the Class L State finals in 2015 and 2016. The cross country team has achieved unparalleled athletic success at East Lyme, winning three consecutive Class MM State titles in 2017, 2018 & 2019. Students from the neighboring town of Salem also attend East Lyme High School. The East Lyme Middle School is a 1999–2000 National Blue Ribbon School and a 2004 New England League of Middle Schools Spotlight School. It is also the Connecticut Association of Schools 2013–2014 School of the Year. It includes a high tech computer lab and a spacious library. The Middle School uses a team program called kivas. A kiva contains a science teacher, a language arts or English teacher, a social studies teacher and a math teacher. Some kivas are smaller and have a math and science teacher and a language arts and social studies teacher. There are 11 kivas consisting of two types: multi-age looping and two-year looping. The last kiva is a world language kiva where students can study French or Spanish.

History

The Thomas Lee House, built , is the oldest house in Connecticut that is still in its primitive state. This building is located in the southwestern section of East Lyme, adjacent to

, at the intersection of

Connecticut Route 156 Route 156 is a Connecticut state highway running from East Haddam to Waterford. Route description Route 156 begins at an intersection with Route 82 in southeastern East Haddam and heads southeast into Lyme. It continues south through Lyme in ...

and Giants Neck Road. Co-located on this site is the one-room Little Boston Schoolhouse, which was relocated to its current location from across Route 156. The town features six homes from 1699 or earlier, and the Old Stone Church Burial Ground from 1719 located off Society and Riverview roads. The area occupied by the town was originally inhabited by the Nehantic people, who maintained villages in the present-day Indian Woods section as well as on Black Point, in the McCook's Beach area and near the Niantic River. The tribe allied itself with the colonists in the 1636 war against the

Pequot people The Pequot () are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or th ...

. The Nehantic would die out in the mid-19th century. The 1750s

Ezra Stiles Ezra Stiles ( – May 12, 1795) was an American educator, academic, Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He is noted as the seventh president of Yale College (1778–1795) and one of the founders of Brown University. According ...

map shows the Nehantic village in what is now Indian Woods as consisting of "12 or 13 huts". East Lyme, then a part of Lyme, had several taverns which offered stopping places for travelers such as

. These included Calkins Tavern on what is now Boston Post Road, Royce's Tavern, and Taber Tavern near present-day

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

. At least 45 Revolutionary War veterans are buried within the borders of East Lyme, and countless more veterans from East Lyme found resting places in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Moses Warren, along with General

Samuel Holden Parsons Samuel Holden Parsons (May 14, 1737 – November 17, 1789) was an American lawyer, jurist, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 428. in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Countr ...

originally of Lyme and

Moses Cleaveland Moses Cleaveland (January 29, 1754 – November 16, 1806) was an American lawyer, politician, soldier, and surveyor from Connecticut who founded the city of Cleveland, Ohio, while surveying the Connecticut Western Reserve in 1796. During the Ame ...

, set out to survey the Ohio Territory in the latter part of the 1790s and has

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

named after him.

Notable locations

Morton Freeman Plant Hunting Lodge The Morton Freeman Plant Hunting Lodge is the centerpiece of a hunting retreat at 56 Stone Ranch Road in East Lyme, Connecticut. It is a large two-story Bungalow style house, designed by Dudley St. Clair Donnelly and built in 1908 by financier Mo ...

– built in 1908, added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1988. * Samuel Smith House – built in 1685, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. * Smith-Harris House – built in 1845, this Greek Revival home was added as the "Thomas Avery House" to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. * Thomas Lee House – built , added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. One of the oldest houses in the state. * William Gorton Farm – added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Media

Library

The first library was started in 1888 and was called the Niantic Library and Reading Room Association. There were 65 founding members. In 1897 the library was formally incorporated as "The Niantic Public Library Association" by the state of Connecticut. The library moved a few times until a permanent structure was built in 1920 on Main Street. In 1966 a wing was added, and in 1979 another addition was added. In 1990 the library moved into the new Community Center/Library complex, where it exists today.

Radio

FM station

WNLC WNLC (98.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the city of license, community of East Lyme, Connecticut. The station is owned by Hall Communications, Inc., which owns a number of stations in medium-sized markets alo ...

is based in East Lyme.

Movies

Portions of the movie Disaster on the Coastliner, released 29 October 1979, were filmed in East Lyme. In 2016, East Lyme was used as a filming location for the Lifetime Thriller, Hunter's Cove. Hunter's Cove was renamed Stalker's Prey when it was released on 9 February 2017.

Economy

According to 2009 statistics 42.2 percent of the town's business was focused in the services industry. A

service industry The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

is a business that focuses on retail, food services, distribution, and transportation. The second largest sector is the trade industry with 23.1% of the town's business, followed by construction and mining which accounts for 12.5% of the town businesses. The largest single employer in town is the state of Connecticut's Department of Corrections which runs two prisons in the west end of town: York Correctional Facility for women, which houses over 1,000 inmates and is staffed by over 500 personnel, and the Gates Correctional Institute for men, which houses about 900 inmates and is staffed by 288 people.

Beaches

Public beaches

– a state park comprising East Beach and West Beach * McCook Park Beach – locally known as "McCook's", located on the western side of McCook Point Park, and immediately adjacent to the private Crescent Beach. This beach, along with its associated public park, was acquired by the town of East Lyme in 1953 from the estate of the McCook Family. This beach is open to the public, on a fee basis, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and is open free of charge during all other times. Access to this beach is controlled via locked gate. The normal park hours are 8:00 a.m. until dusk each day. * Hole-in-the-Wall Beach – an approximately beach that adjoins McCook Point Park. It is open to the public, on a fee basis, between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The normal park hours are 8:00 a.m. until dusk. Access is through a walkway underneath railroad tracks used by

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

. The tunnel is located at the end of Baptist Lane. Free public parking is available, but entrance to the beach is monitored during the summer to ensure people entering have paid for access. It also provides access to the Niantic Beach Boardwalk that was built along the shoreline connecting with Railroad Beach. Known as the Niantic Bay Overlook, it is approximately long. The Overlook parallels the north shore of Niantic Bay and runs adjacent to the Northeast Corridor Amtrak line and consists of an elevated boardwalk and a level stone-dust-filled walkway. * Railroad Beach – the beach at the eastern end of the Niantic Bay Overlook, locally known as "Railroad Beach" due to its proximity with the Niantic Railroad Drawbridge and the Amtrak Northeast Corridor mainline. Access to this beach is from the Niantic Bay Overlook via Hole-in-the-Wall Beach or from Cini Park via the walkway under the railroad drawbridge.

Private beaches

* Crescent Beach – adjacent to McCooks; reserved for homeowners in the area * Oak Grove Beach * Black Point Beach – for members of the Black Point Beach Club Association * Old Black Point Beach – for homeowners in Old Black Point. * Attawan Beach – adjacent to Black Point; for homeowners in the Attawan Beach Community * Giants Neck Heights Beach – for members of the Giants Neck Heights Association. Located at the southeastern end of the Rocky Neck beach. It features a jetty that is popular with local crabbers and amateur photographers—and seagulls who drop clams and mussels on the cement surface to crack them open for eating. Use of this beach is restricted to the approximately 400 homeowners of the Giants Neck Height Association. * Pine Grove – For members of the Pine Grove Beach Association * Oswegatchie Hills Club – For the families living in Saunders Point, between Smith Cove and Niantic Bay.

Notable people

William Colepaugh William Curtis Colepaugh (March 25, 1918 – March 16, 2005) was an American who, following his 1943 discharge from the U.S. Naval Reserve ("for the good of the service", according to official reports), defected to Nazi Germany in 1944. While a cre ...

(1918–2005), Nazi sympathizer who grew up on Black Point and traveled to Germany in 1944 to be trained as a spy *

Tom Danielson Thomas Danielson (born March 13, 1978) is an American retired professional road racing cyclist who competed professionally between 2002 and 2015 for the Mercury Cycling Team (2002), the Saturn Cycling Team (2003), (2004), (2005–2007) and (2 ...

(born 1978), professional cyclist for Team Garmin, finishing 8th in the 2011 Tour de France *

Rajai Davis Rajai Davis (; born October 19, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Clevel ...

(born 1980), Major League Baseball player for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. Hit a game tying home run in Game 7 of the

2016 World Series The 2016 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2016 season. The 112th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs and the American Leag ...

against the ultimately victorious

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

* Charles Drake (real name Charles Ruppert) (1917–1994), actor in over 80 films and numerous television shows *

Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Graha ...

(1921–2003), Hall of Fame professional football player * Anne Rogers Minor (1864–1947), artist, national president of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

from 1920 to 1923 * Jay Allen Sanford, author and cartoonist best known as the co-creator of Rock 'N' Roll Comics, and for his work with

Revolutionary Comics Revolutionary Comics was an American comic book publisher specializing in unauthorized profiles of entertainers and professional athletes, as well as a line of erotic comics. Its flagship series was ''Rock 'N' Roll Comics''. Founded by Todd Lor ...

Carnal Comics Carnal Comics is an adults-only comic book imprint created in 1992 which has so far been published by three companies: Revolutionary Comics, Re-Visionary Press, and Opus Graphics. Carnal Comics' flagship title is '' Carnal Comics: True Stories ...

, and the

San Diego Reader The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a ...

* Emily Steel, journalist at The New York Times, whose investigative wor
forced
Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly out of the network in April 2017 *

James Stevenson (illustrator) James Stevenson (July 11, 1929 – February 17, 2017) was an American illustrator and author of over 100 children's books. His cartoons appeared regularly in ''The New Yorker'' magazine. He usually used a unique comic book style of illustration t ...

(1929–2017). illustrator and author of over 100 children's books whose cartoons appear regularly in

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

* Ed Toth, drummer currently with

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

, formerly with

Vertical Horizon Vertical Horizon is an American alternative rock band, formed in Washington, D.C. Vocalists and guitarists Matt Scannell and Keith Kane started the band in 1991 when they were students at Georgetown University. The band have undergone multip ...

and Jennifer Culture * Jeremy Powers, East Lyme native and former professional racing cyclist, who possesses the most wins by an American male cyclo-cross rider * Vladimir Peter Tytla (1904–1968), known as Bill Tytla, one of the original

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

Places of worship

* Christ Lutheran Church; 24 Society Road, Niantic, CT 06357;

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

* Lighthouse Assembly of God; 315 Flanders Road, East Lyme, CT 06333;

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

* Flanders Baptist Church; 138 Boston Post Road, East Lyme, CT 06333;

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

* Saint Matthias Church; 317 Chesterfield Road, East Lyme, CT 06333;

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

* Saint Matthias Parish Center; 317 Chesterfield Road, East Lyme, CT 06333;

* Miracle Temple Church; 18 Dean Road, East Lyme, CT 06333; Non-denominational * Niantic Community Church; 170 Pennsylvania Avenue, Niantic CT 06357;

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

* Saint Agnes Church; 22 Haigh Avenue, Niantic, CT 06357;

* Niantic Baptist Church; 443 Main Street, Niantic, CT 06357;

* Saint John's Episcopal Church; 400 Main Street, Niantic, CT 06357; Episcopal

Cemeteries

Active

*East Lyme Cemetery, Boston Post Road *Stone Church, intersection of Society and Riverview roads, Niantic *Union Cemetery, East Pattagansett Road, Niantic

References

External links

Town of East Lyme official websiteEast Lyme Public LibraryChildren's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut
{{authority control Towns in New London County, Connecticut Populated coastal places in Connecticut Towns in Connecticut 1839 establishments in Connecticut