The Oyster River is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed April 1, 2011 stream located in the state of
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 ...
in
New Haven County
New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, New ...
.
It flows south through
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
and forms the boundary of
West Haven
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
and Orange and flows through
Yale University's West Campus. Further downstream, it forms the boundary of West Haven and
Milford Milford may refer to:
Place names Canada
* Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia
* Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia
* Milford, Ontario
England
* Milford, Derbyshire
* Milford, Devon, a place in Devon
* Milford on Sea, Hampshire
* Milford, Shro ...
. It empties into
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 ...
, just south of
Route 162 at Oyster River Point.
Swan
Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
s,
box turtle
Box turtle is the common name for several species of turtle. It may refer to those of the genus '' Cuora'' or ''Pyxidea'', which are the Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of the genus '' Terrapene'', the North American box turtles. T ...
s and many other animals call this area home.
In colonial times, Oyster River Point was also known as Clarke's Point. Around 1840, Peter Aimes bought the land from the Clark family, and the area became known as Aimes Point. The Aimes’ family home, Martinstow, an impressive Gothic structure designed by James Renwick, overlooked the Oyster River and the Sound. After the family sold the property in 1949, the name “Aimes Point” slowly went out of common usage and the area became more commonly known as “Oyster River Point”.
The river has dealt with issues of flooding and pollution in recent years. In 2007, a movement was put together by local residents to gain aid from the local government to help with these issues.
See also
*
List of rivers of Connecticut
Most of Connecticut's rivers flow into Long Island Sound and from there the waters mix into the Atlantic Ocean. A few extremely eastern rivers flow into Block Island Sound. The list is arranged by drainage basin from east to west, with respective t ...
References
Bibliography
* Selma Rattner, James Renwick biography. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects, Volume 3.
* ''Images of America, West Haven.'' West Haven Historical Society. Arcadia Publishing. 2005. .
West Haven, Connecticut
Milford, Connecticut
Estuaries of Connecticut
Rivers of New Haven County, Connecticut
Rivers of Connecticut
{{Connecticut-river-stub