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Cromwell, Connecticut: Rose King and Brownstone Seaport

Cromwell, Connecticut

Pictures from Cromwell

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River Highlands State Park overlook Middletown Upper Houses Historic District Main Street, Cromwell

Cromwell began as the riverside "Upper Houses" of Middletown, a thriving seaport by the mid-18th century trading domestically and with the West Indies. English settlers had incorporated the wider Mattabesset territory as Middletown by 1653, but Cromwell itself did not become a separate town until 1851, when the General Assembly recognized it with a population of 1,259. Its name is disputed — either the 17th-century English leader Oliver Cromwell or Connecticut's 20-gun privateer of the same name. Maritime trade declined after the 1830s, propped up for a time by shipments from local brownstone quarries. Manufacturing took over: John and Elisha Stevens founded the J & E Stevens Company in 1843, which grew into the country's largest maker of cast-iron toys and mechanical banks, and Swedish immigrant Andrew N. Pierson built a rose-growing empire in the 1870s that earned him the nickname "Rose King of America." Today Cromwell calls itself the "Crossroads of Connecticut."

  1. 177 riverside acres with the moderate White Trail and boat-in camping.

  2. Private club that hosts the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship each June.

  3. Cromwell's original riverside seaport village, 72 houses on the National Register.

  4. A gazebo overlook on the Connecticut River in historic downtown Riverport.

  5. A rose garden honoring the town's "Rose King of America."

  6. Traces to an 1888 gift from California-pioneer Josiah Belden.

  7. Family-owned breakfast-anytime diner since 1992.

  8. Italian kitchen and lounge on Berlin Road.

  9. Pizza and grinders on Route 99 in the historic Upper Houses.

  10. American menu and craft cocktails, named for the town's founding year.

A seaport, a toy works and a rose empire

Cromwell's riverside Upper Houses district was a working seaport into the 1830s, and the town today holds two National Register historic districts from that era — Middletown Upper Houses (listed 1979), a 70-acre streetscape of 72 houses, nearly half predating 1820, and the Main Street district (listed 1985) — plus the 1982-listed Sage-Kirby House on Shunpike Road. John and Elisha Stevens formed the J & E Stevens Company here in 1843, and it grew into the country's largest cast-iron toy and mechanical-bank maker. Andrew N. Pierson, who emigrated from Sweden in the early 1870s, built A.N. Pierson's Inc. into the country's largest commercial rose-growing operation and earned the nickname "Rose King of America"; Pierson Park still keeps a rose garden in his memory. Josiah Belden, born in the Upper Houses in 1815, joined the first wagon train to California in 1841 and later sent a substantial donation toward the public library that opened in 1888.

Getting there

Cromwell sits where Interstate 91 — two exits serve the town — meets Route 9, which has run as a freeway past Cromwell to I-91 since 1969. Route 3 and Route 99, the old Main Street corridor through the historic Upper Houses, are the other main roads. No passenger rail station exists in Cromwell; the CTrail Hartford Line stops neither here nor in neighboring Middletown. The nearest station is Berlin, 51 Depot Road, about 14 miles south of Hartford and roughly 28 miles north of New Haven along the same corridor, followed by Meriden Transit Center. At New Haven Union Station, the Hartford Line connects to Metro-North's New Haven Line and to Shore Line East.

Where to eat

Cromwell's dining clusters on Berlin Road near the I-91/Route 9 interchange: the Cromwell Diner has served breakfast-anytime and half-pound burgers since 1992, and Cafe Fiore runs an Italian kitchen and lounge with a weekday happy hour next door. Downtown on Main Street, Cromwell Pizza & Pasta serves pizza and grinders in the historic Upper Houses (call ahead to confirm Sunday hours). The 1851 Kitchen & Cocktail Bar, named for the year Cromwell became a town, runs free trivia every Wednesday and is closed Mondays. No hotel could be verified as currently operating inside Cromwell; two Marriott-brand properties on Sebethe Drive and Berlin Road appear in the local chamber directory, so call ahead to confirm before booking.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Cromwell?
By car — Interstate 91 (two exits) meets Route 9 in Cromwell, with Route 3 and Route 99 as the other main roads. There is no passenger rail station in Cromwell or in neighboring Middletown; the nearest CTrail Hartford Line stop is Berlin, 51 Depot Road.
Is there a train to Cromwell?
No. The CTrail Hartford Line runs Springfield–Windsor Locks–Windsor–Hartford–Berlin–Meriden–Wallingford–New Haven, and it does not stop in Cromwell or Middletown. The nearest station is Berlin, rebuilt with high-level platforms and fully opened in October 2018.
Can I play golf at TPC River Highlands?
Not as a walk-up visitor — it's a private membership club. For one week each June it opens to the public as the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship, an event dating to 1952 as the Insurance City Open.
What are Cromwell's National Register historic districts?
Two: the Middletown Upper Houses Historic District (listed 1979), a 70-acre, 72-house riverside streetscape that was the original seaport village before Cromwell split from Middletown in 1851, and the Main Street Historic District (listed 1985).
Is there a hotel in Cromwell?
No hotel could be verified as currently operating in Cromwell. Two Marriott-brand properties — a Courtyard on Sebethe Drive and a SpringHill Suites on Berlin Road — are listed in the local chamber of commerce directory; call ahead to confirm before relying on either.

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