In 1647, while on his way to Boston, William Chesebrough first came across the area we now know as Stonington. Two years later in 1649 he settled here, at Wequetequock Cove, with his family, becoming the first European settler of the town. Within a few years, Thomas Stanton, Walter Palmer, Thomas Miner, and Captain George Denison all made their way to the town. Many other families followed their lead in the next few decades.
While much of Stonington’s heritage is linked to the sea, companies like the American Velvet Company mill and the Joslyn Fire Arms Company (renamed the Atwood Machine Company in later years) supplied in-town work for those citizens not aboard fishing or sealing vessels. Such historic events as the discovery of Antarctica and the repulsion of a British fleet during the war of 1812 are linked to the small seaside village.
With such a rich and colorful story, it is fortunate that Stonington was able to preserve much of its history through town documents, historical literature, and the work of the Stonington Historical Society, which was founded in 1895. Perhaps most impressive are the great number of remaining historical houses, structures, and sites, some of which date as far back as the 1600s.
Some of Stonington’s most significant historical sites are:
• Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House, built in 1852 by brothers Alexander Smith Palmer and Nathaniel Brown Palmer, the latter of which has claim to the discovery of the continent of Antarctica.
• Stonington Point Lighthouse, first constructed in 1823, with a beacon that could be seen for up to 12 miles out to sea. The lighthouse is now a museum operated by the Stonington Historical Society.
• Wequetequock Burial Ground, on Palmer Neck Rd., home to the resting places of three of the four founders of the town of Stonington; Thomas Minor, Thomas Stanton, and Walter Palmer, with gravestones dating back to 1690, 1677, and 1661, respectively.
• American Velvet Company mill, first opened in 1892, closed in 1996 and is now home to numerous small businesses and more than 29 artists’ studios.
• Stanton-Davis Homestead, believed to have been built in 1670, but certainly no later than 1677, is the oldest remaining house in Stonington and part of a farm which has been continually worked by the same family for over 350 years, not once missing a harvest.