Governor Island is one of the
Thimble Islands
The Thimble Islands is an archipelago consisting of small islands in Long Island Sound, located in and around the harbor of Stony Creek in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut. The islands are under the jurisdiction of the United Sta ...
off
Stony Creek, a section of
Branford, Connecticut. It has 14 residences, although none are inhabited year-round.
Inhabited initially as an oyster company's base of operations. Since pigs will feed from an oyster shucker's waste pile, a "watch pig" was installed rather than a dog, eliminating the daily row out to feed the animal. The assertiveness of this pig quickly earned it the name "Governor". By the fourth season, the pig had grown so large and onerous that it kept even the oystermen off the island. Something had to be done since this was a commercial operation. In memory of the first pig roast, the island was named "Governor's". There remains a debate among the older islanders if Governor was a pig or a goat; with recent
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
looking down upon "goat roasts".
One of the oldest houses on the island was built in 1880 by R.H. Brown and is still held by his family's descendants. R.H. Brown was a notable Connecticut brass manufacturer and is known to have made some of the finest yacht cannons ever made.
See also
*
Thimble Islands
The Thimble Islands is an archipelago consisting of small islands in Long Island Sound, located in and around the harbor of Stony Creek in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut. The islands are under the jurisdiction of the United Sta ...
*
Outer Lands
The Outer Lands is the prominent terminal moraine archipelagic region off the southern coast of New England in the United States. This eight-county region of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York, comprises the peninsula of Cape Cod and th ...
References
*
Wealthy Widow Buying Up Thimbles', "New Haven Register", January 22, 2006, page A1
*
'; Stacey Stowe; "In the Region/Connecticut", ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', July 30, 2006; Real Estate page 10.
Thimble Islands
Long Island Sound
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