Fenwick, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
Fenwick is a borough in Middlesex County
, Connecticut
, United States
, in the town of Old Saybrook
. The population was 52 at the 2000 census, making it the least populous municipality
in Connecticut. It is a popular summer colony
. Most of the borough is included in Fenwick Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. In 1995, the district included 66 contributing buildings and one other contributing site.
Fenwick is set off from the town center of Old Saybrook by a large cove over a causeway. It is located exactly where the Connecticut River
flows into Long Island Sound
.
Fenwick has two lighthouses, the Inner
and the Outer
. There is also a single public beach about a quarter of a mile away from the lighthouse. The Inner is at the tip of Lynde Point, Fenwick's peninsula, and the Outer is a quarter mile off shore, connected by a rough jetty. The Outer Light is the lighthouse shown on many Connecticut license plates.
in 1995.
The district is significant architecturally as "one of the state's largest concentrations of Shingle-style buildings; 17 of the district's 60 main buildings exhibit characteristics of the style."
The district includes a large concentration of houses built using the Shingle Style architecture.
St. Mary's-by-the-Sea, a 1 and 1/2 story house at 30 Agawam Avenue, was designed by Francis Goodwin
and built in 1883.
The Shingle Style buildings in the district are:
The Fenwick Golf Course is a public 9-hole golf course and is the site of the Stephen Potter
Cup. The golf course also includes public clay tennis courts and a boating club.
, the borough has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 52 people, 26 households, and 17 families residing in the borough. The population density
was 121.9 people per square mile (46.7/km²). There were 83 housing units at an average density of 194.5/sq mi (74.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 100.00% White.
There were 26 households out of which 11.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples
living together, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.41.
In the borough the population was spread out with 11.5% under the age of 18, 1.9% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 38.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $57,500, and the median income for a family was $60,625. Males had a median income of $50,625 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income
for the borough was $38,135. None of the population and none of the families were below the poverty line.
until she died on June 29, 2003 at the age of 96. Actress Rosemary Murphy
, New York City
mayor John Lindsay
, and several members of the Whitney family
have also lived there at one time or another.
Middlesex County, Connecticut
Middlesex County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was created in 1785 from portions of Hartford and New London counties. As of 2010, the population was 165,676....
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in the town of Old Saybrook
Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,367 at the 2000 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybrook Manor.-History:...
. The population was 52 at the 2000 census, making it the least populous municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in Connecticut. It is a popular summer colony
Summer colony
The term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States and Canada, to describe well-known resorts and upper-class enclaves, typically located near the ocean or mountains of New England or the Great Lakes...
. Most of the borough is included in Fenwick Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. In 1995, the district included 66 contributing buildings and one other contributing site.
Fenwick is set off from the town center of Old Saybrook by a large cove over a causeway. It is located exactly where the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
flows into Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
.
Fenwick has two lighthouses, the Inner
Lynde Point Light
Lynde Point Lighthouse, also known as Saybrook Inner Lighthouse, is a lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, on the west side of the mouth of the Connecticut River on the Long Island Sound, Old Saybrook, Connecticut-History:...
and the Outer
Saybrook Breakwater Light
Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse is a sparkplug lighthouse in Connecticut,United States, at Fenwick Point at the mouth of the Connecticut River near Old Saybrook, Connecticut...
. There is also a single public beach about a quarter of a mile away from the lighthouse. The Inner is at the tip of Lynde Point, Fenwick's peninsula, and the Outer is a quarter mile off shore, connected by a rough jetty. The Outer Light is the lighthouse shown on many Connecticut license plates.
Fenwick Historic District
The Fenwick Historic District included 66 contributing buildings plus the Fenwick Golf Course. The district covers an area of 195 acres (78.9 ha) and was listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1995.
The district is significant architecturally as "one of the state's largest concentrations of Shingle-style buildings; 17 of the district's 60 main buildings exhibit characteristics of the style."
The district includes a large concentration of houses built using the Shingle Style architecture.
As an architectural concept, the Shingle Style goes beyond simply the use of a particular siding material. Shingle-style houses have a pronounced mass to them, a sense of heaviness and horizontality, that often was created by the use of a single large roof, such as a gambrelGambrelA gambrel is a usually-symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, while the lower slope is steep. This design provides the advantages of a sloped roof while maximizing headroom on the building's upper level...
or hip roofHip roofA hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
, in contrast to the usual Victorian practice of equal-sized cross-gables. Dormers, where present, were usually made distinctly subordinate. Many of the buildings in Fenwick illustrate this principle. The house at 34 Pettipaug Avenue, for example, achieves the desired heavy appearance by having its gable-on-hip roof encompass the two-story side porches, thereby creating a single block, whereas in earlier Victorian styles the effect would likely have been one of a profusion of appendages.... The house at 12 Pettipaug Avenue has a similar roof, but a smaller second-story porches (Photograph 9). Nevertheless, it achieves the same effect by making the porch roofs into extensions of the main roof; indeed, the first-floor porch appears itself as a continuation of the main roof, interrupted only slightly by the second-story walls. Finally, many Fenwick Shingle-style buildings augment the effect of massiveness by giving the roof a flare at the eaves, or having an upper story swell out and overhang the lower story, or by including pent roofs over window and door openings. All three techniques appear in a quintessential Shingle-style building in Fenwick, St. Mary's-by-the-Sea (Photograph 3).
St. Mary's-by-the-Sea, a 1 and 1/2 story house at 30 Agawam Avenue, was designed by Francis Goodwin
Francis Goodwin
Francis Goodwin was an English architect, best known for his many provincial churches in the Gothic revival style, civic buildings such as the first Manchester Town Hall and Macclesfield town hall , plus country houses such as Lissadell House, County Sligo .Goodwin was born at King's Lynn,...
and built in 1883.
The Shingle Style buildings in the district are:
- St. Mary's-by-the-Sea, at 30 Agawam Avenue, 1883, (photo #3)
- 26 Fenwick Avenue, c. 1871 (photos #4 and #5)
- 28 Fenwick Avenue, 1887
- 30 Fenwick Avenue, c.1871
- 2 Mohigan Avenue, 1881 (photo #7)
- 15 Neponset Avenue, c1900
- 16 Old Fenwick Road, 1899
- 6 Pettipaug Avenue, 1913
- 7 Pettipaug Avenue, 1880
- 9 Pettipaug Avenue, 1905
- 10 Pettipaug Avenue, 1885
- 11 Pettipaug Avenue, 1910
- 12 Pettipaug Avenue, 1881 (photo #9)
- 25 Pettipaug Avenue, c. 1871
- 27 Pettipaug Avenue, c. 1878
- 34 Pettipaug Avenue, c. 1884
- 39 Pettipaug Avenue, c. 1882
The Fenwick Golf Course is a public 9-hole golf course and is the site of the Stephen Potter
Stephen Potter
Stephen Meredith Potter was a British author best known for his mocking self-help books, and film and television derivatives from them....
Cup. The golf course also includes public clay tennis courts and a boating club.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the borough has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 52 people, 26 households, and 17 families residing in the borough. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 121.9 people per square mile (46.7/km²). There were 83 housing units at an average density of 194.5/sq mi (74.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 100.00% White.
There were 26 households out of which 11.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.41.
In the borough the population was spread out with 11.5% under the age of 18, 1.9% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 38.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $57,500, and the median income for a family was $60,625. Males had a median income of $50,625 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the borough was $38,135. None of the population and none of the families were below the poverty line.
Notable residents
Fenwick was the lifelong home to actress Katharine HepburnKatharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
until she died on June 29, 2003 at the age of 96. Actress Rosemary Murphy
Rosemary Murphy
Rosemary Murphy is an American actress of stage, film, and television.Murphy was born in Munich, Germany, the daughter of American parents Mildred and Robert D. Murphy, a diplomat...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
mayor John Lindsay
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay was an American politician, lawyer and broadcaster who was a U.S. Congressman, Mayor of New York City, candidate for U.S...
, and several members of the Whitney family
Whitney family
The Whitney family is an American family notable for their social prominence, wealth, business enterprises and philanthropy, founded by John Whitney who came from London, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635.-Rise to prominence:...
have also lived there at one time or another.