“The shot heard ‘round the world”, fired at Lexington in 1775, is typically how we mark the beginning of the American Revolution. But wars don’t arise out of thin air—especially wars undertaken against the most powerful imperial army in the world. Before war comes ideology, and few writers were more important in developing the rhetoric of revolution than Lyme’s own Reverend Stephen Johnson.  A decade before the Revolution, Reverend Johnson, the minister of Lyme’s First Congre

Walking down Lyme Street on a beautiful autumn day, you might consider that this very lane was once a footpath for the Nehantic People—not just hundreds, but thousands of years ago. Archaeologists have established evidence of their early settlement across the area, including at the rock shelters in the Town’s Ames Family Open Space.   Local traditional Native villages stood in places known today as Black Hall, Watch Rock, and Talcott Farms.  The Native people referred to thes

The men of Lyme had barely returned home from Lexington before they had to march right back to Boston to face the British at Bunker Hill.  On April 26, 1775, just days after the opening skirmish of the Revolutionary War, the Connecticut General Assembly raised six regiments for defense of New England.

TO ARMS!  TO ARMS!  THE WAR HAS BEGUN! So was the cry brought to our streets in 1775 by Minuteman Israel Bissell as he rode from...

David Ruggles, a native son of our town, is an American hero deserving of recognition and honor for his work advancing the cause of...

Kokomo's Restaurant (Photo by Kokomo's) [May 2023] Old Lyme comes alive every year with seasonal residents and visitors who love our summer shoreline. It’s always a pleasure to welcome back our friends as well as the more than a dozen businesses that open just for the season! Kayak Rentals at Black Hall Outfitters (photo by BHO) Black Hall Outfitters has begun its kayak, canoe, and paddleboard rentals, and in-person outfitter sales are back to match its year-round online pr

The holidays are arriving and Old Lyme has a number of ways in which to enjoy the enchantment of the season. November 26th, the Florence Griswold Museum brings back its festive "palette trees" as part of its Holiday Magic celebration (see top photo). More than 200 artists from across the region have painted palettes which are displayed on Christmas trees in the Museum's galleries. Visitors make it an annual tradition to see the yearly additions to the palette trees, and enj

World events, music history, songbird identification, and (of course) the fine arts, are some of the varied topics that lifelong learners pursue right here in town. Old Lyme considers itself lucky to have nonprofits and organizations committed to supporting the ongoing pursuit of knowledge and mastery. With the vision to serve as "the community's vibrant hub for engagement, discovery and creativity," the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library ("The Phoebe") offers a speaker s

Henry Ward Ranger, Connecticut Woods, 1899, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 1909.7.54 It is not an unusual sight to see an artist with easel and paints alongside one of Old Lyme’s roadways or riverbanks. Generations of artists have sought to capture the beauty of this unique location by painting en plein air , or "painting outdoors," for more than a century. Old Lyme’s setting, where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound, crea

Old Lyme townspeople value the inspiring natural resources surrounding us. As our Plan of Conservation and Development states, “Decades of effort by volunteer land-use commissioners and dedicated property owners have preserved a great abundance and variety of natural resources and kept Old Lyme as a peaceful, serene haven, with its people strongly in tune with the natural world around them and having a real appreciation of its small-town sense of community." As recognized by

As a New England coastal community, life in Old Lyme follows the seasons in a delightfully predictable way throughout the year. Daffodils and crocuses signal the start of Spring, and soon en plein air painters will set up their easels to capture the blossoming apple and cherry trees. Robins and warblers aren’t the only ones returning north to us, as our “snowbird” residents return from warmer climes. The Old Lyme Landscape Garden Shop reopens, and the Duck River Garden Club