Oral History Project

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Connecticut River Museum

“The most historic property on the Connecticut River.”

It all started over a bowl of clam chowder at the Griswold Inn. It was 1972, and Tom Stevens—historian, former director of the Mystic Seaport and Deep River resident—was enjoying his usual Friday bowl of chowder when Bill Winterer, owner of the Griswold Inn, stopped at Stevens’ table to chat. Winterer and his wife, Victoria, had recently bought the old warehouse at the foot of Main Street known as Steamboat Dock. Winterer described his plans for the property.

“That is the most historic property on the Connecticut River,” Stevens said. “It deserves something better than yet another commercialization.” Winterer mentioned the idea to Vicky, whose field is historic preservation, and got an immediate enthusiastic response. Thus, the idea of preserving the property and the rich history surrounding it became both a hope and an aspiration. It emerged as a considerable challenge but community support was strong. In 1974, Bill Winterer organized a group of active citizens at the Gris. Soon thereafter, the Connecticut River Foundation came into being. The story of the Museum and River are intertwined and ongoing. Share your stories of the Museum and the River and help celebrate 50 years!

It’s the River that connects us.

In honor of the Museum’s 50^th Anniversary, we launched the Oral History Project to collect your River stories. The Connecticut River Museum tells the story of the River, exploring how waterways create connections over time and across various geographies as well as the relationships forged in and along the River. We want to add your voice to our story.

What do you love (or hate) about the River? How has it changed? How do you hope it will change in the future? In the video below, folks who helped to found the Museum share their experiences and memories of the Museum and the River. We invite you to share your stories using the link below.

What do you think?

We want to hear from you. Tell us your story.

By sharing your Connecticut River or Connecticut River Museum story, you will create a living legacy that expands on the historical record and provides invaluable resources for future generations who will seek to better understand the past. For 410 miles, innumerable drops of water make their way from the Canadian boarder to Long Island Sound. Together, these drops of water comprise the powerful Connecticut River, the backbone of New England. Each story that we collect is like a drop of water and together they will help the Museum ensure that full history of the River is recorded.

As the Connecticut River Museum remembers its first 50 years and looks ahead to its next 50, we want to hear from you. Tell us your story! We’re using a platform called TheirStory to help us collect and organize the stories that folks share. It’s easy to use and secure. Click the button below to take you to the TheirStory website to make a recording. TheirStory won’t start recording until you click the record button and if you don’t like how your story turned out, you can always delete it without sharing.