Essex is the center of the river mouth communities. The outlying villages of Ivoryton and Centerbrook became a part of it in the late 19th century. Deep River has remained an independent town forging an important history as a small manufacturing hub. With the river close and such a major presence, Essex has evolved as a gentile tourism center with its surrounding villages increasingly absorbing the influence of its affluence. Second homes sitting along the riverbanks from Deep River to the Sound now cost well into the seven-figure range. The yachts, restaurants and boutiques may be the draw in Essex itself, but it’s the pull of the tide along the river toward Old Saybrook and the Shoreline that gives it the magic.

Essex is the jewel of the river mouth, where the 400-mile-long stream flows into Long Island Sound and the river towns meet Shoreline communities. Essex takes some characteristics of both the river and the sea. In its sphere, Centerbrook, Ivoryton and Deep River are less populous, but bring the area’s total population to more than 15,000.

A number of years back, author Norman Crampton named Essex one of the Nation’s 100 Best Small Towns. Well it’s been that way since its beginnings.

Back in the 17th century, most of Essex, Deep River, and Chester were known as the Potapoug quarter of Saybrook Colony. Only in 1852 did Essex become a separate town, later adding the villages of Centerbrook and Ivoryton. During the 18th century, Essex emerged as a shipbuilding center, and by the time the Civil War ended, more than 500 vessels had launched from the town’s shipyards.

Yankee ingenuity saved the day for Essex after the British sank its shipbuilding. Samuel Comstock created an enormous ivory industry here. Ninety percent of the raw tusks imported from Africa to America passed through Ivoryton and left it in some other form. In partnership with George Cheney, Comstock built piano actions and keyboards, along with ivory toothpicks and such, at Comstock, Cheney, & Company in the section then called West Centerbrook, which later became Ivoryton and Deep River.

These days the warehouses and factories are empty of ivory and piano keys. Yacht brokers share riverside space with four marinas filled with recreational vessels of fancy proportions, and restaurants where the patrons have whales on their pants. In Deep River, one piano factory building has been restored as condos. From the Essex Station, the Essex Steam Train makes the 22.67-mile trip to and from Deep River over track laid by its parent company, the Valley Railroad Company, in the late 1860s. At the Deep River terminus, passengers may continue their odyssey aboard the riverboat Becky Thatcher, with a cruise upriver to East Haddam.
But Essex is also a community of stalwart Yankees who cleave to old-fashioned notions of fellowship and history. It’s a place where school board meetings top the to-do lists of young parents, and the planning commission discusses preservation at least as much as economic development.

Throughout town, this penchant for paying attention to both customary and contemporary expectations is apparent. The Connecticut River Museum highlights the historic heyday of the river as well as its current challenges; the Community Music School welcomes chamber quartets as well as jazz bands. Incarnation Camp in Ivoryton has offered outdoor education since 1886, but its activities vary from classic fire-building skills to scuba diving.

Ivoryton’s Copper Beech Inn, not one to languish into faded glory, has added a brasserie called Pip’s, just as the Griswold Inn refines its centuries-old practices of hospitality. You can still head to “the Gris” for a sea chantey sing-a-long, but you might also enjoy its sophisticated wine bar. The Black Seal Seafood Grille serves up traditional burgers and Rhode Island clam chowder, but the owner also offers trendier fare at Gabrielle’s, his second establishment just up the road in Centerbrook.

In all three of Essex’s villages a charming mix of mostly independent purveyors provide artfully chosen goods that might not be found anywhere else but here—or at least not nearby. For decades citizens have counted on the tasteful wares and services offered at mom-and-matron-friendly Talbot’s at the top of Main Street, and down the main lane at The Peddler, Silkworm and J. Alden. Generations of parents and grandparents have relied on Toys Ahoy and the Red Balloon, and probably everyone in town has stopped at Sweet P’s for ice cream.

Some visitors try to take pieces of Essex home with them by choosing regional scenes from the paintings offered at the Essex Art Association or the Gunn Gallery. Their desire to capture the special essence of Essex would come as no surprise to residents. That special essence is lifestyle, they would tell you.

Al Ferreira Photo