Connecticut Coastal Paddling

Fairfield County

Greenwich

Greenwich Cove

Site Location:

Basic Information: Greenwich Cove is one of the most attractive and best protected anchorages in Long Island Sound, unspoiled by commercial wharves or buildings or, for that matter, amenities. If you're going for quiet beauty, Greenwich Cove is the place to be.

Type: Cove

Water Type: Saltwater

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Coordinates:

Longitude 73.575ºW Latitude 41.018ºN

Location Map:

USGS Quadrangle: Stamford

Navigational Charts:

Use ChartKit Region 3, page 26; Maptech Waterproof Charts 1 and 16; and Maptech electronic and NOAA paper charts 12367 (1:20,000), 12364 (1:40,000), and 12363 (1:80,000). Use tide tables for Bridgeport. High tide at Cos Cob Harbor is 5 minutes later; low tide is 11 minutes later. Multiply height of tide at Bridgeport by 1.1 for height of tide at Cos Cob Harbor. Mean tidal range is 7.2 feet.

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Site History:

Greenwich's five harbors make it a busy and popular stop for boaters. Cos Cob, part of Greenwich, is one of those stops. It was a popular haven for artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when painters and writers from New York City summered in Connecticut to get away from the heat and stress of the city and to get their creative juices flowing again. The Bush-Holley House found itself at the center of this artistic wave.

Built in the late 1600s when Greenwich was still under the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam as New York City was then called, the Bush-Holley House was later used by the famous Revolutionary War General Israel Putnam, who, it's said, lived in it so that he could keep an eye on the strategic saltworks. The British, under General Tryon, still managed to plunder the saltworks and the surrounding area before being chased away by American troops.

This has always been a popular place. Adriaen Block brought the first settlement here in 1614, the same year the Dutch captain also discovered the Connecticut River. The strategic location of Greenwich made it an important stronghold from the time of the French and Indian War to the War of 1812. Today, Cos Cob is a small but upscale bedroom community preferred by Manhattan executives. New York City boaters like to escape to here, too, so finding a slip on a weekend may not be easy.