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07/05/2018 12:00 AMClinton is a small town, but it still has its surprises. Even residents who've lived here all their life might walk past a hidden gem withoutthinking twice about it, such as the time capsule on Liberty Green. Some of the town's historical landmarks gained a new following in Pokémon GO. However you relate to them, Clinton has a few landmarks— and myths—that are worth a second look.
There's no cannon on Waterside Lane.
Contrary to popular belief, there's no cannon at the end of Waterside Lane. It's a British carronade: a smaller, lighter version of a cannon that sits on a slider instead of wheels.
"On the smaller ships they used them almost exclusively," said Eben Whitcomb, who helped restore the 18th century carronade in 2004. "The drawback was it didn't have as long a range."
The carronade was recovered from a shipwreck on Saybrook Bar. Clinton (then Killingworth) residents used the weapon during the War of 1812 to successfully expel a British frigate from Clinton Harbor.
The Leatherman stopped in Clinton every 34 days.
Strictly speaking, the Leatherman stopped everywhere on his route every 34 days. The French vagabond trekked the same 365-mile loop between New York and Connecticut from the 1850s until his death in 1889. He always slept outdoors—often in caves that he kept stocked with firewood. However, he accepted meals from local families, including the Buell family at 3 Liberty Green, today a bed and breakfast, where he stopped on every visit. His handmade leather suit weighed about 60 pounds, and he walked about 10 miles each day. Today, it's still a mystery who he was or where he came from.
There's a reason for the Liberty Green cannon's wooden wheels.
It's less of a hazard in its current state, but the Liberty Green cannon—and yes, it's a real Navy cannon used in the War of 1812—has a good reason for its wooden wheels.
"They didn't use steel wheels on cannons because they could make sparks," explained Whitcomb. "They were carrying gunpowder around."
The rear wheels could also be removed to raise the elevation of the cannon.
The bridge to Town Beach is not the oldest bridge in the state.
There's a rumor that the bridge at the end of Waterside Lane is the oldest in the state, but even if it once was, today that's not the case.
"The bridge that goes to the Town Beach has been repaired and/or replaced many times since the original construction," said Laraine Scherban of the Clinton Historical Society. "The 1938 hurricane washed it away completely. So, no, it is certainly not the oldest bridge in Connecticut."
Charles Morgan founded (and funded) The Morgan School.
Charles Morgan of Clinton made his fortune building steamships and railroads. The Morgan School is a product of that enterprise.
"While alive, he purchased land, set up a Board of Trustees, and had a school constructed and equipped," said Scherban. "He left an endowment to pay for maintenance, teacher salaries, and school expenses."
The Morgan School was dedicated in 1871. Morgan died seven years later; his estate was valued at $13,000,000.
Interested in learning more about your town's history? The Clinton Historical Society's library at the Old Brick is one place to start—it's open every Wednesday morning. But perhaps the best place to begin is the Museum Room at Town Hall. Open on Thursday evenings, it contains such oddities as Abraham Pierson's gravestone. Pierson was Yale College's first rector—basically its president. He taught Yale's first classes in 1701 at his parsonage, which was located near his namesake school.
The Museum Room also houses the original "25" mile marker—that's a copy you see on East Main Street near the Clinton Bible Fellowship. Benjamin Franklin ordered the mile markers placed in the 1750s during construction of the Boston Post Road to connect the 13 colonies and enable speedy mail delivery: hence the "Post" Road.
"The stone marker put in place in colonial Clinton was '25,'" Scherban said. "This indicated it was 25 miles to New Haven."
The Clinton Historical Society's library at the Old Brick, 103 East Main Street, is open on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. The Museum Room is open on Thursdays, June through September, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Andrews Memorial Town Hall, 54 East Main Street. For more information, visit www.clintoncthistory.org.