THE BIRTH OF POTAPAUG
The Colonial history of Essex dates back to 1635 when the Saybrook Colony was established
at Saybrook Point, encompassing present-day Old Lyme, Lyme, Old Saybrook, Essex, Deep
River and Chester. Saybrook merged with the Connecticut Colony in 1644 and by 1648
Saybrook was divided into four quarters. The area comprising the current towns of Chester,
Deep River and Essex became known as “Potapaug Quarter.” The geographic center of the
original Saybrook Colony within Potapaug assumed the name “Center Saybrook,” which over
time was condensed to its present name “Centerbrook.” Center Saybrook was situated on a
large fertile plain alongside the largest vertical drop on the Falls River, which attracted early
settlers to the area.
In the middle of the 17th century a handful of families pushed east to Potapaug Point,
settling the area that developed into present-day Essex Village. A maritime economy soon
developed, shipping agricultural products and timber to Colonial seaports and English sugar
cane plantations of the West Indies. The plantations traded in sugar, salt, molasses and rum.
In turn, Europe traded manufactured goods with the West Indies forming a triangle of trade
with the American Colonies.
By the mid-1700s, Potopaug Point contained small building yards, producing one or two-
masted vessels, as well as various support industries such as blacksmiths, chandleries, saw
mills and later a rope walk. With the construction of the warship “Oliver Cromwell” in 1776
at the Hayden yard, Potapaug established itself as a shipbuilding leader. From the mid-1700s
through the 1800s, Essex’s shipyards built and outfitted approximately 600 wooden vessels,
located on the North, Middle and South Coves. Shipbuilders, owners and merchant masters
who developed fortunes from the sea, gained wealth as Essex connected with global ports.
The First Connecticut Warship
Jim Powers, Historian & Archaeologist
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