The Old Lyme Historic District encompasses the historic village center of

Old Lyme, Connecticut 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 ther ...

. Located mainly on Lyme Street south of

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

, the village, settled in the mid-17th century, has an architectural history dating to the early 18th century, flourishing as a shipbuilding center and home to many ship captains. It was listed on 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 1971.

Description and history

Old Lyme was one of the early settlement areas of the Puritan

Saybrook Colony The Saybrook Colony was an English colony established in late 1635 at the mouth of the Connecticut River in present-day Old Saybrook, Connecticut by John Winthrop, the Younger, son of John Winthrop, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. ...

in the 17th century, and was the early town center of Lyme. It separated from that community as South Lyme in 1855, and eventually renamed itself Old Lyme. The village center has since the early days been arrayed along what is now called Lyme Street, which runs parallel to the

Lieutenant River The Lieutenant River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tidal river located in Old Lyme, Connecticut. It joins the Connecticut River in the estuary, jus ...

shortly before its mouth at 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 ...

. The village flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries as a shipbuilding center, and was home to the Old Lyme Art Colony in the late 19th century. The artistic legacy is continued by the presence of the

Lyme Art Association Lyme Art Association (LAA) is a non-profit art organization established in 1914, with roots going back to 1902. The organization maintains a historic art gallery located at 90 Lyme Street in the Old Lyme Historic District, Old Lyme, Connecticut. T ...

and the

Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is an art school in Old Lyme, Connecticut. From 1992 to 2019 it was a degree-granting institution, and from 2016 it was constituent college of the University of New Haven, as Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. Histo ...

in the village. The historic district extends along Lyme Street, roughly from the junction with I-95 southward to McCurdy Street, and then a short way along that roadway. It also includes a few buildings north of I-95, including the Old Lyme Inn and the Florence Griswold House and Museum, the historic center of the art colony. The town's civic buildings are located in the village, including the town hall and library. Houses in the district range across the architectural spectrum from the early 18th century to the late 19th century, and including the Peck Tavern on Sill Lane, an 18th-century tavern that is now a private residence.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut Georgian architecture in Connecticut Old Lyme, Connecticut Historic districts in New London County, Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References