Selden Neck State Park is a island and public recreation area on 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 ...

in the

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 ...

of Lyme,

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 ...

. Accessible only by boat, the

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

has four areas for primitive, riverside camping. Hiking, fishing, and hunting are also available. The park was among the first parcels secured for park purposes by the state, with initial land purchases on the island made in 1917. It is managed by

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is a state agency in the US state of Connecticut. The department oversees the state's natural resources and environment and regulates public utilities and energy policy. I ...

Setting

Selden Neck State Park is located on Selden Island, and is not actually a neck or

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

. It is located on the east side of the Connecticut River south of

Gillette Castle State Park Gillette Castle State Park straddles the towns of East Haddam and Lyme, Connecticut in the United States, sitting high above the Connecticut River. The castle was designed and built by William Gillette (1853–1937), an American actor most famous f ...

, and is separated from the mainland by Selden Creek, land owned by the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

. The roughly lozenge-shaped island is about at its widest point and about long. It is primarily wooded except for a fringe of tidal marshes, and has a high point of .

Features

The island is entirely roadless, but there are hiking trails on it. The main campground is located on the river side near the northern end. The island also has the remains of a quarry, located near the southeastern end. Begun in the late 19th century, the quarry provided red sandstone pavers for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and other regional cities. In addition to the quarry itself, the remains of a causeway for bringing stone from the quarry to the shore also survive. The island also has a documented prehistory. Excavations on the island in the 1980s uncovered a sizable Middle Woodland Period village, with radiocarbon dates to c. 1000 CE. Stone tools, pottery fragments, and animal bones are among the many artifacts found in the excavation, which only covered an estimated 2% of the site, which 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 1987.

References

External links

Selden Neck State Park
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Selden Neck State Park Map
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection {{authority control State parks of Connecticut Parks in New London County, Connecticut River islands of Connecticut Protected areas established in 1917 Lyme, Connecticut Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut