1. Griswold Inn
City: Essex, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 767-1776
Address: 36 Main St.
Insider Pick:
Description: The British invaded and burned ships at Essex in 1814, but they thankfully missed the white clapboard Griswold Inn. Built by Sala Griswold in 1776, it is called “The Gris” by everyone in town, and its fluttering Union flags are impossible to miss. There is a selection of rooms at different price levels, but all have private baths and climate control, welcome modern conveniences. If you stay over on a Sat night, be sure to get the Hunt Breakfast on Sun morning, started by those British invaders long ago. They recently added to the rambling old restaurant with a wine bar, which has a different menu and will appeal to a different set of guests. Maybe you’re one of them. The inn also has a shop across the street in the 1799 Timothy Starkey House with “goods and curiosities,” books, and maps. Don’t miss a cone at Sweet P’s ice-cream and candy store as well.
2. Rachel Thomas Realty
City: Essex, CT
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (860) 767-8635
Address: 5 Essex Sq.
Description: The Hartford Metropolitan Area is the 45th largest in the country, and Hartford County is the second most populated county in the state. Population density is 1,215 people per square mile, and the county encompasses 735.44 square miles. The 895,000 people in the county as a whole enjoy the perks of having a major city nearby. In addition to Hartford, Bristol and New Britain are also incorporated cities among the 26 other towns. The population of the county has increased 4.3 percent in the past 10 years. Countywide, 72 percent of the people are white, 11 percent are black, and 11 percent are Hispanic. About 22 percent speak a language other than English at home, and 13 percent are foreign born.Sixty-six percent of the county’s residents own homes, and the median house value is $242,900. Median income is almost $62,000, and 9 percent of the county is below the poverty level. Property taxes average $4,464 for home owners; expect to pay about 5.5 percent of your income toward them. Median price for rental properties is about $1,100, though there is price variance throughout the county, depending on size and location of the property. As for the employment outlook, about 43 percent of businesses in the area are in the service industry. Management-level and professional occupations make up a good percentage of employment, as do sales-related jobs. About 13 percent of the county is employed in finance, insurance, and real estate; 21 percent in education, health, and social services; 10 percent in retail trade; and about 14 percent in government. Major companies in the county include Northeast Utilities and Pratt and Whitney.
3. Griswold Inn Restaurant And Tap Room
City: Essex, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 767-1776
Address: 36 Main St.
Insider Pick:
Description: The restaurant at the 1776 Griswold Inn is simply an experience not to be missed. The curved ceiling of the historic taproom highlights the old woodstove in the center of the room, the ancient blackened fireplace, and the Currier and Ives seafaring prints covering the walls. It has been called “the most handsome barroom in America” and consistently voted the best in Connecticut. The signature chowder is amazing, and they serve it with a Caribbean sherry pepper sauce, an authentic relic mostly forgotten. The house-made Long Island duck pâté is creamy and delicate in a generous portion. The lunch will cost you no more than a TGI Friday’s, and the experience and taste are light years ahead. Although the Tap Room is the most famous, it is by no means the only room to dine in. The Gun Room features antique firearms in glass cases, and the Library tempts diners to crack open one of the old books.
4. English Accents Antiques
City: Essex, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (860) 767-0113
Address: 4 N. Main St.
Description: The owners of English Accents travel to England every year and import antiques and accessories to Essex. Most are “manor house”–style antiques, with 19th-century furniture, fine porcelain, vintage jewelry, paintings, lamps, and rugs. But they also have an interesting selection of sporting antiques; maybe you’ll want a pair of ancient cross-country skis or a bamboo fishing rod for over the mantle. Get yourself a pair of leather club chairs, in which you can suitably rustle your newspaper and drink a single-malt whiskey. Open Thurs through Sun, the English Accents store is located right on the corner of the main intersection in Essex, and you can hardly miss it as you drive into town.
5. Francis Bealey American Arts
City: Essex, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (860) 767-0220
Address: 3 S. Main St.
Description: Just down the street from the Pratt House, run by the Essex Historical Society, is a modest antiques gallery. It may seem at first like a modern gallery, but the paintings you see hanging around the store are mostly American Impressionists, many of whom painted at the art colony in nearby Old Lyme. More a museum than a gallery, it’s truly a window into the past, and into this great artistic movement in which Connecticut played an important part. For the past 30 years Francis Bealey has also carried 18th- and 19th-century American furniture and decorative arts of various sorts, providing many to nearby institutions, museums, and collectors. Stop in even if you aren’t buying, Thurs through Sat from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
6. The Silkworm Of Essex Village
City: Essex, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (860) 767-1298
Address: 23 Main St.
Description: This is a small, independent boutique with seasonal dresses and excellent service. You’ll find it right across from the lovely town park that leads down to the water, a charming back bay off the Connecticut River. Along with outfits from designers like Lilly Pulitzer, Sara Campbell, and Nicole Miller, the Silkworm also has gifts and accessories like bags, belts, and scarves. Get an Eric Javits hat to keep off the summer sun. There are dozens of great shops in Essex, so be sure to explore. But the Silkworm is a standout for their consistently reliable service and hand-picked selection.
7. Connecticut River Museum
City: Essex, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 767-8269
Address: 67 Main St.
Description: At the end of land in Essex, right by the wharves and marina, sits the 1878 Steamboat Dock, now housing the Connecticut River Museum. Inside, the old wide-plank floors support three levels of the museum of the longest river in New England. Starting with the Native Americans and Dutch, the museum takes you all the way up to the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 and its wonderful effect on the river. There are interactive “sound sticks” to listen to at many exhibits, and the third floor hosts changing displays. Stand-out exhibits include the burning of Essex by the British, the building of the warship Oliver Cromwell, and the strange history of the Turtle, a submarine built during the American Revolution. The extensive gift shop has treasures of the sea and land, and for the scholars among you, the research library next door is in an 1813 house. For the more adventurous, there are two daily departures on the historic Mary E schooner, which will take you up and down the mighty river itself.
8. Essex Steam Train
City: Essex, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 767-0103
Address: 1 Railroad Ave.
Insider Pick:
Description: Few insiders miss this two-in-one attraction on their travels in Connecticut, choosing either the Steam Train and Riverboat or the Essex Clipper Dinner Train. The first is better with children, and the second for a romantic night out. Right off Route 9 in Essex, Connecticut Valley Railroad company cars greet you as you pull into the gravel parking lots. The Steam Train and Riverboat has several different excursions, including one across the river to nearby Gillette Castle. The Clipper serves a seasonal four-course meal in its 1920s Pullman diner cars. You can see them restoring old train cars in the barn, and other old cars sit idle in the yard, like the 1941 Porter Heavy Steam Locomotive. Next door is the old Witch Hazel factory and water tower; this area once was the world center of production of this herbal tonic. These trains were used in the last Indiana Jones film, and taking a journey on them certainly feels like stepping into a movie.
9. Spa Of Essex
City: Essex, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 767-7796
Address: 63 S. Main St.
Description: This spa is just outside the center of the charming village of Essex, and though you could walk from there, you might be so relaxed that you won’t want to walk back. Drive into their spacious lot (or get dropped off under their portico) and head inside. After changing in the comfortable locker rooms, you’ll relax (briefly) in the plush waiting room and then be escorted along the long, curved hall to one of 7 treatment rooms, or the manicure/pedicure room or makeup room, followed by the relaxation room for recovering from their exquisite treatments. Along with massages and the usual spa services, you can choose herbology, an aromatherapy oil wrap, a back glow treatment, or one of their “wet room” treatments, like the Dead Sea mud experience. Their treatment options and choices change much more often than most spas, with the season and with the needs of their clients. Don’t forget to tip the masseuse or technician if she does a good job.