Where the Heck is Haddam Neck?
Haddam is the only town in Connecticut that is bisected by a river.
About a month ago a colleague and I got into a friendly disagreement when I was on the road looking for a street in the section of Haddam known as Haddam Neck. My colleague had a rudimentary map at his home showing the village was on the east side of the Connecticut River, essentially separated by the river from the rest of Haddam.
“That’s impossible,” I told him. After all, I knew that in Connecticut, town borders were set along rivers, not bisected by them.
I bet him lunch he was wrong.
He wasn’t.
Haddam Neck sits on the east side of the Connecticut River from the rest of Haddam. It’s sandwiched between East Haddam and East Hampton. It was settled around 1712, mostly by folks from Haddam, but when other Haddamites also settled, and later created, the town of East Haddam in 1734, Haddam Neck folks decided to remain a part of Haddam.
So there you have it. It is the only town in Connecticut bisected by a major watercourse. Here are some scenes from the village, which, by the way, is a lovely, quiet area that once a year hosts the enormously popular Haddam Neck Fair.
Have you been to Haddam Neck?
Tell us in the comments.
Karen Kratzer
10:25 am on Friday, May 13, 2011
I've been living in The Neck since 1988 and I'm still not considered a local. There are families here from the beginning. I recognize their names on the oldest tombstones. Its a secret place, quiet and the people here make it special, our kids feel safe and have an old fashion sense of roots. The river is the perk, but The Haddam Neck Fair is awesome. Sometimes I wonder what its like to live on the outside, but then I think, I'm planted for good here.
Eileen McNamara
11:29 am on Friday, May 13, 2011
It feels like something out of a movie set! It's a truly lovely place and I'm glad I at least live near it and can visit it.
J
10:11 am on Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wethersfield is also separated by the Connecticut River. They have a small triangular piece of land on the east banks. The difference is that they have no residents on that side.
Mr. Fixit
9:07 pm on Tuesday, July 5, 2011
To my knowledge, for most CT towns located on the river, their borders near the river are in the center of the river. Middletown's border extends to the Portland side of the river.