Paddle from Enfield Rapids to
Long Island Sound and travel down one of America’s most famous waterways the
Connecticut River. Its calm waters conceal an unruly past, where native tribes lost ground to Dutch and English colonists who vied for the river’s immense economic power. The skyline of
Hartford looms on the western shore, with the gold dome of the capitol as a remnant of this robust economy centered on world trade. Many have found a deep inspiration along the river, including Lady Fenwick, a local legend; David Bushnell, creator of the first American submarine; and even
Albert Einstein, who contemplated the cosmos while relaxing on the riverbanks. Author Wick Griswold takes readers on a provocative journey as he traces the history of the Connecticut River.
Background Information
Long Island, a product of the last Ice Age, is largely rural in the east but part of America's largest city in the west. First settled in 1637, Hartford is the largest inland city in Connecticut and the second largest city on the Connecticut River. Albert Einstein revolutionized science with his theory of relativity, first published in 1903, and was influential in persuading FDR of the potential for atomic weapons in World War II. The Connecticut River flows south through New England, dividing Vermont and New Hampshire before flowing into Long Island Sound.
