Flanders is the northern village of East Lyme. Its history stretches from farms and mills along Boston Post Road to church buildings, a field engineer camp, and later streetcar entertainment. Today’s dining scene also gives the area its own character. This makes it possible to get to know East Lyme from different perspectives: through its settlement history, landscape, and connection to seafood.
Flanders: Settlement History and Church
Flanders was named after the wool industry in Flanders, Belgium. The northern section along Boston Post Road initially developed in the early 18th century with farms as well as sawmills and gristmills. Agriculture and mills thus shaped the early development of this area.
The history of Flanders Baptist and Community Church also began before its present-day buildings: the congregation from which the church grew was meeting in a private home on Boston Post Road by 1748 at the latest. It was officially recognized as a Baptist church in 1752. The meetinghouse, dedicated in 1843, and the parsonage, built in 1879, still stand at their original locations and are used by the church. If you would like to visit the buildings, check the visiting arrangements in advance.
Flanders Fish Market & Restaurant offers another, contemporary facet. The business began as a fresh fish market in an area then known as Flanders, Connecticut. Today it is a full-service restaurant and a seafood marketplace. The business’s history and its present-day description thus connect with the area’s association with fish and seafood.
Camp Grounds and Powers Lake
A 1,760-acre field engineer camp in the Flanders section of East Lyme is now the Yale Outdoor Education Center. The university uses the Center for retreats and recreation. The grounds include Powers Lake: it lies at the center of the property and is state-owned. The camp grounds and lake thus add institutional and landscape perspectives to Flanders’ history.
Powers Lake can be reached via a boat launch on Whistletown Road. Check the launch’s operating conditions before you go.
East Lyme: Transportation History and Nature
Golden Spur’s history is also part of the broader context of East Lyme. Golden Spur, also known as Head of the River, was long a center of commercial activity in East Lyme. In 1905, the East Lyme Street Railway developed Golden Spur Amusement Park to increase ridership on the streetcar connection between East Lyme and New London. The park closed in 1924. Together, these milestones show how transportation and entertainment were once connected with the development of commercial activity.
The Oswegatchie Hills Nature Preserve is open year-round from sunrise to sunset within the town of East Lyme and is free to visit. Check the latest operating information before your outing. In Nehantic State Forest, the forestry division of Connecticut DEEP has conducted regular prescribed burns since 1993 to preserve its oak savanna habitat.
East Lyme therefore offers more than a single historical site to focus on: Flanders tells the story of early settlement and church life, the Yale Outdoor Education Center of institutional use, and Golden Spur of the streetcar and amusement park. Depending on your interests, round out this local history with the area’s connection to seafood or the nature preserve within the town. For specific visits, the relevant visiting and operating arrangements can help with planning.
Discover more destinations: Niantic, Ledyard, Stonington, Bozrah, Preston, Waterford, Norwich, Lisbon.
For the broader travel overview: New London.
