A History of the Rowayton Waterfront: Roton Point, Bell Island and the Norwalk Shoreline

by Karen Jewell

Overview

Welcome to Rowayton, a vibrant community nestled on the shores of Long Island Sound and encompassed by the city of Norwalk, Connecticut. Great steamships once delivered thousands of visitors daily to Roton Point to enjoy one of the premier amusement parks on the eastern seaboard. Roton Point was also home to the nation's oldest continuously operated multi-hull racing club and was the birthplace of the winged sail design for C-class catamarans. In this collection of vignettes, rumrunners, a missing two-hundred-foot steamship, a national scandal and the notorious "Long Island Express" hurricane of 1938 that almost destroyed Roton Point all introduce readers to a grand time in New England history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614231271
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	08/05/2010
Series:	American Chronicles
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Karen Jewell currently writes a weekly column for the Norwalk Hour newspaper titled "Water Views, "? which has been running for the past nine years. Its theme centers on anything and everything that has to do with life along the waterfront. Her past work experience includes serving in the position of dock master for five years, working for two years as a yacht charter/yacht sales broker, employment at a prestigious New England sail loft for one year and running a successful boat cleaning business for five years. Growing up along the coastline of Connecticut and having enjoyed summers vacationing with her family along the shoreline of Maine her entire life, Jewell developed a strong passion for the water, boating and just about everything to do with life along the water at a very young age. Her affection for the sea has only grown stronger over the years, and learning about the unique history of the waterfront has been one of her favorite pastimes.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

1 The Basics 11

2 Of Islands and Lighthouses 15

3 The Norwalk Yacht Club: A Foundation for Tradition 25

4 Roton Point: "The Most Charming Watering Place on the Sound" 37

5 The Great Hurricane of 1938: "The Long Island Express" Barrels across the Sound 53

6 Hickory Bluff and the Rowayton Yacht Club: An Era Remembered 57

7 Bell Island: The Summer Resort at the Tip of Rowayton 75

8 Rex Marine and Norwalk Cove Marina: Louis J. Gardella Has a Vision 87

9 Mysteries and Treasures: A Missing Ship, the Curse of Captain Kidd and a Bounty of Precious Jewels 95

10 A Bit about Oysters 105

11 Multihulls Make Maritime History 111

12 The Waterfront Today 117

Bibliography 121

About the Author 125