The Connecticut River, the only river flowing the length of New England, runs 400 miles from the Canadian border to Long Island Sound and has often been compared in beauty to the Hudson and Rhine Rivers. It withstood intensive development mainly because a sandbar blocked the entrance to large vessels. The first effort to improve navigation came in 1773, when the legislature approved a lottery for marking the Saybrook bar, and today the Army Corps of Engineers maintains a 15-foot channel. For three centuries, the river served as a ready-made highway for trade and travel. Ferry service between Saybrook and Lyme began in 1662, shipbuilding along the river was once a major industry that accounted for over 1,000 vessels, and by 1824 there was regular steamboat service between Hartford and New York. Environmental programs have restored the river as a resource for recreation, and the eight-town Gateway Commission protects the estuary as far as 17 miles upstream through a conservation zone.

Photo: Michael Herrick