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Griswold, Connecticut: Jewett City and the Slater Mills

Griswold, Connecticut

Pictures from Griswold

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Hopeville Pond State Park beach Slater Library, Jewett City Jewett City center

Griswold's roots reach to 1716, when Preston residents tired of traveling south to church organized their own "North Society." The town, then still part of Preston, was incorporated separately in 1815 and named for Roger Griswold, who died in office as governor in October 1812 — a posthumous honor. In the late 1700s Eliezer Jewett opened mills and an irrigation plant at the settlement that came to bear his name; Rhode Islanders John and Lafayette Tibbits founded the Jewett City Cotton Manufacturing Company there in 1809, and in 1823 Samuel Slater, who had helped establish the nation's first cotton mill in Pawtucket, bought the struggling operation with his brother John and renamed it the Slater Company. Jewett City incorporated as a borough of Griswold in 1895. Long before the mills, the Pachaug River was Mohegan fishing ground; stone weirs the tribe built are still visible in Hopeville Pond at low water.

  1. A mill-pond park with Mohegan stone fishing weirs visible at low water.

  2. A CT DEEP launch on 841-acre Pachaug Pond.

  3. An 1884 Romanesque Revival library, a gift of John Fox Slater.

  4. Hand-crafted ice cream and a summer sunflower fundraiser for Make-A-Wish.

  5. Main Street Chinese and Asian food in Jewett City.

  6. An independent gastropub, evenings only.

  7. A downtown breakfast counter open from 5 a.m.

  8. A midday-to-late-night bar and grill known for Irish nachos.

  9. Griswold's one branded hotel, near I-395 Exit 22.

Slater Library and a borough within a town

The Slater name is stamped on the borough beyond the mills: the Slater Library at 26 Main Street was a gift of industrialist-philanthropist John Fox Slater, built in 1884 to a Romanesque Revival design by Stephen C. Earle, with the Fanning Annex added in 1930. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2002. Griswold covers 37.1 square miles at the northeastern edge of New London County, with a 2020 census population of 11,402, and contains the borough of Jewett City plus the villages of Doaneville, Glasgo, Hopeville, Kaalmanville, Nathanieltown, Pachaug and Rixtown. John Cantius Garand, designer of the M1 Garand rifle, is among its notable residents.

Getting there

Griswold sits in Connecticut's Quiet Corner along I-395: take Exit 21 for Route 12 into Jewett City, Exit 22 for Routes 138/164 toward the Pachaug side, or Exit 24 for Route 201 toward Hopeville. There is no passenger rail station anywhere in Griswold or the Borough of Jewett City; rail travelers should ride Shore Line East or Amtrak to New London and finish the trip by car via I-395.

A mill pond, sunflowers and Main Street diners

Hopeville Pond State Park sits on a former woolen-mill site with a swimming beach, boating and a wooded campground. Buttonwood Farm, family-owned since 1975, hand-crafts ice cream on site and plants a summer sunflower field for its Sunflowers for Wishes fundraiser, which has raised over $1.9 million for Make-A-Wish Connecticut across two dozen seasons — though the bloom window is a short midsummer stretch separate from the March-through-October ice cream season. Downtown, Charlene's Diner has run a breakfast counter for decades, Mandarin Garden Restaurant serves Main Street Chinese and Asian food, and Uncle Kranky's Cafe and Brewett City Pub anchor the borough's bar-and-grill scene into the evening.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Griswold?
By car — I-395 Exit 21 (Route 12) reaches Jewett City, Exit 22 (Routes 138/164) serves the Pachaug side, and Exit 24 (Route 201) serves Hopeville. There is no passenger rail station in Griswold; the nearest is New London, reached via I-395.
Is there a train to Griswold or Jewett City?
No. No Amtrak, Metro-North, CTrail Hartford Line or Shore Line East station exists in Griswold. The nearest rail is New London Union Station.
What is the Slater Library?
An 1884 Romanesque Revival library at 26 Main Street, Jewett City, a gift of industrialist John Fox Slater, with the Fanning Annex added in 1930. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002; open Monday-Saturday with hours varying by day.
Can I still see the sunflowers at Buttonwood Farm?
The Sunflowers for Wishes fundraiser runs a short midsummer window each year; the farm's ice cream stand stays open March 1 through October 31 regardless. Check buttonwoodfarmicecream.com for current-season sunflower dates.
Is there a hotel in Griswold?
Comfort Inn Griswold, on Voluntown Road near I-395 Exit 22, is the one branded hotel physically inside town. Call ahead to confirm rates and availability.

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