A hill town of coves and farms on the east bank of the Connecticut, where Hamburg sits at the head of its cove, the Hadlyme ferry still crosses, and the old name of Lyme stayed with the uplands after the shore went its own way.

New London County · Record checked October 11, 2026

2,352Population2020 census1
1667Became a townnamed for Lyme Regis in England1
30 familiesRoom forwhat the east side claimed in 16652
607 acresSelden Neckan island park reached only by boat3
7National Registerplaces, all still standing4

Lyme on the map

Click the map to look closer.

Map of Lyme, Connecticut in 2026, with Hamburg Cove, Hadlyme and the ferry, the Eightmile River, Nehantic State Forest and 34 numbered landmarks

2026

Lyme today

By KNOWOL

Shaded hills from Hadlyme and the river cliffs across Grassy Hill to North Lyme, every street, Hamburg Cove, the Eightmile River and the Hadlyme ferry, with Hadlyme, Hamburg, North Lyme and Sterling City printed by name and a guide of 34 numbered landmarks.5

See the 2026 printMore about this map

The story of Lyme

A loving parting

Lyme began as the east side of Saybrook. On February 13, 1665, the two sides of the river signed what an 1882 county history calls a loving parting, and the east side declared it had land enough for thirty families. In 1667 the General Court recognized the new town as Lyme, after Lyme Regis in England. The first settlers built near the shore, in what's now Old Lyme, so when the eastern part went to East Lyme in 1823 and the shore went off as South Lyme in 1855, it was this hill country that kept the old name. The same 1882 book follows the road to North Lyme past sharp steeps, wild crags, glimmering lakes and dark gorges, with views up the Connecticut and across the Sound.216

Sloops and shipyards on the Eightmile

The Eightmile River reaches the Connecticut through Hamburg Cove, and for a long time it was Lyme's road to the world. A bridge has crossed it at Hamburg Bridge since 1759, at the head of navigation, and wharves lined the banks below until a channel was dredged down to Hamburg village about 1824. A 1903 biography says Horace Ely of Hamburg ran a sloop to New York with farm produce, kept a store, and then built sloops and fishing boats for thirty-five years. His family remembered him as the pilot of the first steamboat on the Connecticut. Upriver at Joshuatown, Jonathan La Place was foreman of the large shipyards. By 1922 a county history found a growing artist colony at Hamburg Cove.78910

Selden's Neck and the Hadlyme parish

Hadlyme takes its name from Haddam and Lyme, and its church parish drew from both. A 1914 history of the Hadlyme church says a herdsman's lodge stood on Selden's Neck by 1660, and that Joseph Selden of Hadley, Massachusetts, settled there in 1696, the first settler in the Lyme part of the parish. In 1723 people at the north end of Lyme, beyond the Eight Mile River, asked to worship on their own. The Society of Hadlyme was incorporated in 1742 and gathered its church with ten men in 1745. Brockway's Ferry ran to Essex from 1724, and Warner's ferry to Chester from 1769. Selden's Neck is a state park now, and the castle William Gillette began in 1914 stands on the Lyme side of the line.1112131415316

Through the years

25 moments from 500 to today.

  1. 500People camp on a river terrace near Hamburg Cove, at what's now the Cooper Site.17
  2. 1000A village stands on Selden Island, by radiocarbon dates from 1980s digs.3
  3. 1660A herdsman's lodge stands on Selden's Neck by this year or before.11
  4. 1665On February 13 the east side of Saybrook signs a loving parting and becomes its own plantation.2
  5. 1667The General Court recognizes the plantation as the town of Lyme.1
  6. 1696Joseph Selden of Hadley, Massachusetts, settles on Selden's Neck.11
  7. 1723People at the north end of Lyme, beyond the Eight Mile River, ask to worship on their own.12
  8. 1724Brockway's Ferry begins crossing between northern Lyme and Essex.14
  9. 1727The Hamburg church is organized, probably this year, under Rev. George Beckwith.18
  10. 1742The Society of Hadlyme is incorporated, made from parts of East Haddam and Lyme.13
  11. 1755The Grassy Hill church is organized.2
  12. 1759A bridge is built across the Eightmile River at Hamburg Bridge, the head of navigation.7
  13. 1769Jonathan Warner is granted the ferry between Chester and Hadlyme.15
  14. 1810Six members organize the Baptist church at North Lyme.18
  15. 1823The eastern part of Lyme goes to East Lyme.1
  16. 1824About this year a deep-water channel is dredged to Hamburg village, and the old landing upstream fades.7
  17. 1837Lyme has four post offices, among them Hamburg and North Lyme.19
  18. 1850Rev. E. F. Burr, author of Pater Mundi, becomes pastor at Hamburg.18
  19. 1855The shore goes off as South Lyme, renamed Old Lyme two years later.1
  20. 1880Lee Luther Brockway opens a store at Brockway's Ferry.20
  21. 1914William Gillette begins his stone castle above the river.16
  22. 1922A county history finds a growing artist colony at Hamburg Cove.10
  23. 1936The present three-arch concrete bridge is built at Hamburg Bridge.7
  24. 1943Lyme adopts zoning, helping keep its rural country.21
  25. 1964Andy Warhol films his movie Sleep in Lyme.1

Places to see

The numbers match the landmark guide printed on the 2026 map.

  • 8Nehantic State ForestEastern Lyme. Uncas Pond and Norwich Pond.Visit their website
  • 9Hamburg FairgroundsHamburg. Beside the Grange and Public Hall.
  • 11Selden Neck State ParkConnecticut River. Island park reached only by boat.Visit their website
  • 14Lyme Congregational ChurchSterling City Road. The church at Hamburg.
  • 16Hadlyme Ferry Historic DistrictFerry Road. Six houses built before 1820.
  • 17Grassy Hill Congregational ChurchGrassy Hill. Hilltop church gathered in 1755.
  • 28Chester-Hadlyme FerryHadlyme landing. Crossing the river since 1769.
  • 29Gillette Castle State ParkRiver Road. William Gillette's stone castle.Visit their website
  • 31Becket Hill State Park ReserveEastern Lyme. 260 undeveloped acres.
  • 33Hamburg Bridge Historic DistrictEightmile River. Old landing at the head of navigation.

On the National Register

All 7 places in Lyme on the National Register of Historic Places that still stand today, oldest first, and why each one matters.4

  • Hamburg Cove Site

    Listed 1987 · Address restricted

    A large Native American settlement near the mouth of the Eightmile River at Hamburg Cove, probably lived in from the Early to the Late Woodland periods. Hearths, post molds and many deer bones point to long stays.22

  • Cooper Site

    Listed 1987 · Address restricted

    On a river terrace near Hamburg Cove, it holds camps from about 500 CE and a later wigwam site. Some of the stone points were made from chert and hornfels carried from as far as New Jersey.17

  • Selden Island Site

    Listed 1987 · Address restricted

    Digs on Selden Island in the 1980s found a sizable Middle Woodland village with radiocarbon dates of about 1000 CE, though only about 2 percent of the site was dug.3

  • Lord Cove Site

    Listed 1987 · Address restricted

    An archaeological site at Lord Cove, listed with three other Lyme river sites in 1987.4

  • Hamburg Bridge Historic District

    Listed 1983 · Joshuatown Road and Old Hamburg Road

    A small waterfront village at the head of navigation on the Eightmile River, bridged since 1759. Ten houses and old stone wharves survive from the years before about 1824, when a channel dredged to Hamburg village drew the trade away.7

  • Hadlyme Ferry Historic District

    Built about 1760 · Listed 1994 · Ferry Road (Route 148) and the ferry slip

    Six Georgian and Federal houses built before 1820 climb Ferry Road from the slip of a ferry documented since 1769. The oldest, the Samuel Brooks House, dates from about 1760.23

  • Seventh Sister (Gillette Castle)

    Built 1914 to 1919 · Listed 1986 · 67 River Road

    The actor William Gillette, famous as Sherlock Holmes on stage, designed this stone house on the southernmost of the Seven Sisters hills and lived there until his death in 1937. The state bought it in 1943.16

    Visit their website

In their words

“The inhabitants on the east side of the River desiring to be a plantation by themselves; doe declare that they have a competency of Lands to entertaine thirty families.”

The Saybrook and Lyme agreement of 1665, in a History of New London County, 18822

“The road to North Lyme winds among sharp steeps, wild crags, around glimmering lakes, through weird ravines and darksome gorges”

History of New London County, 18826

“Lower still are Higganum, Haddam, Middle Haddam, Hadlyme, Hamburg, and Old Lyme, each lovelier than the preceding and farther away from everything that seems to matter.”

The harvest of a quiet eye, 1927, on the towns of the lower Connecticut24

Nearby towns

Sources

  1. Lyme, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  2. History of New London County, Connecticut (1882), the Lyme chapter, Internet Archive
  3. Selden Neck State Park, Wikipedia
  4. National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  5. Map of Lyme, Connecticut in 2026, KNOWOL (USGS elevation, Census Bureau roads)
  6. History of New London County, Connecticut (1882), on the road to North Lyme, Internet Archive
  7. Hamburg Bridge Historic District, Wikipedia
  8. Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut (1903), on Horace and Elmer Ely of Hamburg, Internet Archive
  9. Commemorative biographical record of Middlesex County, Connecticut (1903), on the La Place family of Joshuatown, Internet Archive
  10. A modern history of New London County, Connecticut (1922), Internet Archive
  11. Manual of the Congregational church and history of the church and parish in Hadlyme, Connecticut (1914), Internet Archive
  12. History of Middlesex County, Connecticut (1884), on the 1723 petition from the north end of Lyme, Internet Archive
  13. A statistical account of the county of Middlesex, in Connecticut (1819), on the Hadlyme society, Internet Archive
  14. Historic towns of the Connecticut River valley (1906), on the river ferries, Internet Archive
  15. Chester-Hadlyme Ferry, Wikipedia
  16. Gillette Castle State Park, Wikipedia
  17. Cooper Site (Lyme, Connecticut), Wikipedia
  18. History of New London County, Connecticut (1882), on the churches of Lyme, Internet Archive
  19. Connecticut historical collections (1837), Internet Archive
  20. Genealogical and biographical record of New London County, Connecticut (1905), on Lee Luther Brockway, Internet Archive
  21. Lyme, ConnecticutHistory.org
  22. Hamburg Cove Site, Wikipedia
  23. Hadlyme Ferry Historic District, Wikipedia
  24. The harvest of a quiet eye: a book of digressions (1927), Internet Archive