Around 1600 AD, the Hammonassett Indians lived in the Madison and Clinton area as mostly farmers who grew corn, beans, and squash, while also clamming, fishing, and hunting in summer and probably moving to more protected wooded areas in winter. Hammonassett means, "We dig holes in the ground." The Hammonassett Indians lost control of the land to the Mohegans when the daughter of their leader, Sebaguenosh, married Uncas, the Mohegan leader. From the 1700s through 1800s, activities in the Hammonassett area included fish oil production on the beach, lumber-related industries such as paper manufacturing, and shipbuilding, while Clinton harbor grew as a trade center accessed by ships traveling up the Indian River. In 1826, East Guilford became an independent town and was renamed Madison as a tribute to the fourth president. In 1919, the Connecticut State Park and Forest Commission, realizing how quickly shoreline land was being acquired for private development, decided to buy property to create Hammonassett Beach State Park. Within a year, 565 acres, half the present acreage, was bought for $130,960, and the remaining acreage, including the Meig's Point area, was purchased by 1928. During World War II, the park was closed to the public and Meig's Point had an aircraft firing range with the target at the end of a catwalk running from Meig's Island to Menunkatuck Island; planes from Bradley Field fired at the target and flew out over Long Island Sound. Supposedly, there is wreckage of a plane several hundred feet offshore. In 1954, a 125ft water tower was installed, and it was hit by a small plane that year.

Photo: Conrad Ward