McCook Park Beach
Encyclopedia
McCook Point is a public park and beach located in the village of Niantic
in the town of East Lyme. It adjoins the town's Hole in the Wall Beach to its east and the private Crescent Beach to its west. Combined the two parks encompasses 21 acres of land. The bulk of the 21 acres are within the section known as McCook Point Park.
McCook Park has the following facilities:
: a combination of three mountain building events creating bedrock units with a north-south grain, and subsequent glacial action that eroded the softer rock structure to create the existing coastline including McCook Point and adjoining Black Point
and the Niantic Sound, including McCook Point, during the summer months where they would grow crops of corn, beans and squash as well as live off of fish and shell fish captured in the Sound, the river, and other streams that feed the Sound.
, in what is now the village of Flanders. At this time McCook Point was known as Champlain's Point.
The Nehantics continued to occupy the area along the Niantic River, McCook Point, and Black Point and supported the colonists in the Pequot War
of 1634 to 1638. The victorious colonists issued land grants to Captain Thomas Bull and four of his soldiers around McCook Point
that connected New Haven to New London in 1852 by the New Haven and New York Railroad the village of Niantic began to grow as it opened up the shoreline to summer tourist. One of those tourists was the Reverend Professor John James McCook
who was the rector of St. John's Episcopal Church of East Hartford in 1869. He and his family began spending the summer in Niantic for the benefit of their eldest son's health.
The family purchased 16 acres of Niantic shoreline in the Crescent Beach area including Champlin's Point. The family built a house on the point itself, which they occupied only during the summer month.
The commission members quickly recognized that the facility needed to expand as indicated into their report for 1920 to 1922.
The commission approached the McCooks about their property.
The State Commission decided it was imperative that it acquire at least a portion of the McCook property to expand the sanitarium, but the McCooks were living up to their name the "Fighting McCooks." The commission was becoming frustrated by the McCooks' refusal to sell as expressed in their 1922 to 1924 report.
The McCooks, represented by Attorney Anson McCook, fought the state's efforts to condemn their property. The case found its way to the state Superior Court that ruled in favor of the McCook's. In 1930, the state gave up on the Niantic site, and instead purchased property in nearby Waterford, CT to build a new facility that opened in 1934.
Niantic
Niantic may refer to:* Niantic , tribe of native AmericansShips*Niantic , relic of San Francisco Gold Rush*USS Niantic Victory, Victory ship later renamed USNS Watertown...
in the town of East Lyme. It adjoins the town's Hole in the Wall Beach to its east and the private Crescent Beach to its west. Combined the two parks encompasses 21 acres of land. The bulk of the 21 acres are within the section known as McCook Point Park.
McCook Park has the following facilities:
- A covered picnic pavilion that can be rented and reserved for use.
- Two restroom facilities: one at the lower beach area, the other on the bluff near the picnic pavilion.
- Playground equipment on the bluff area.
- Parking by the beach and on the bluff by the pavilion
Geography
McCook Point Park consists of the point itself which stands about 40 feet above sea level, and a beach area that is the eastern most point of the Crescent Beach area. The point represents an example of the geological forces that created the northern shore of the Long Island SoundLong Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
: a combination of three mountain building events creating bedrock units with a north-south grain, and subsequent glacial action that eroded the softer rock structure to create the existing coastline including McCook Point and adjoining Black Point
Pre-colonial Period
McCook Point served as a summer camping site for Nehantic Indians. The Nehantics would camp along the Niantic RiverNiantic River
The Niantic River is a mainly tidal river in eastern Connecticut. It is crossed by the Niantic River Bridge carrying Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, as well as highway bridges carrying Connecticut Route 156 and US-1. It separates the towns of East Lyme and Waterford. The river is long....
and the Niantic Sound, including McCook Point, during the summer months where they would grow crops of corn, beans and squash as well as live off of fish and shell fish captured in the Sound, the river, and other streams that feed the Sound.
Colonial Period
When European settlers arrived, McCook Point along with much of the area surrounding it was left to the Nehantics as settlers chose reside closer to the King's Highway, now known as the Boston Post RoadBoston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into the first major highways in the United States.The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York...
, in what is now the village of Flanders. At this time McCook Point was known as Champlain's Point.
The Nehantics continued to occupy the area along the Niantic River, McCook Point, and Black Point and supported the colonists in the Pequot War
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
of 1634 to 1638. The victorious colonists issued land grants to Captain Thomas Bull and four of his soldiers around McCook Point
Settlement by the McCooks
With the construction of the Shore Line RailwayShore Line Railway
Shore Line Railway or Shore Line Railroad may be:* Shore Line Railway * Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad * Shore Line Railway , Canada * Shore Line Railway in Westchester County...
that connected New Haven to New London in 1852 by the New Haven and New York Railroad the village of Niantic began to grow as it opened up the shoreline to summer tourist. One of those tourists was the Reverend Professor John James McCook
John James McCook (professor)
John James McCook, Jr. was a chaplain in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and postbellum lawyer, professor, and theologian. He was a member of the Fighting McCooks, a family of Ohioans who contributed 15 members to the Union army.-Biography:McCook was born in New Lisbon, Ohio. He...
who was the rector of St. John's Episcopal Church of East Hartford in 1869. He and his family began spending the summer in Niantic for the benefit of their eldest son's health.
The family purchased 16 acres of Niantic shoreline in the Crescent Beach area including Champlin's Point. The family built a house on the point itself, which they occupied only during the summer month.
State Condemnation Efforts
In the 1920s, the State of Connecticut entered into a legal dispute with the McCook family when the state attempted to condemn a portion of the land to expand its Seaside Sanitarium tuberculosis facility that it had opened in 1919 State officials initially purchased a bankrupt White Beach Hotel in the Crescent Beach area and opened it with a maximum of 45 beds to treat children with tuberculosis.The commission members quickly recognized that the facility needed to expand as indicated into their report for 1920 to 1922.
- In spite of the fact that The Seaside was the first state institution of its kind in America, and that many of the leaders of the medical profession were yet skeptical of the power of continuous sun-baths to cure bone tuberculosis, the success of the institution was immediate, and in a few months a "waiting list" of patients began to form.
- "A waiting list" is a very serious problem for a state institution that offers to the public, relief from pain and hope of cure, not available elsewhere. Even the most enthusiastic of the medical friends of The Seaside lost much of their enthusiasm when they found that they could not secure the admission of their patients to the new institution for months and sometimes a year after his or her application had been filed.
The commission approached the McCooks about their property.
- Before the sitting of the last General Assembly, we approached the owners of this tract of land east of the state property, to learn the price they set on the whole or part of this property. After considerable delay, the owners came together for a conference on our request and replied to us that the land "was not for sale in whole or in part."
The State Commission decided it was imperative that it acquire at least a portion of the McCook property to expand the sanitarium, but the McCooks were living up to their name the "Fighting McCooks." The commission was becoming frustrated by the McCooks' refusal to sell as expressed in their 1922 to 1924 report.
- The 1923 appropriation of $100,000 for the erection of the proposed new sanatorium building at The Seaside, and of $25,000 for the purchase of the necessary adjoining land and the 1925 appropriation of $30,000 for the purchase of necessary adjoining land ; all remain unexpended in the State Treasury.
- If the owner of this unused land that the State wishes to purchase, and that the last General Assembly directed the Governor to secure "by condemnation or otherwise," succeeds in postponing a legal decision in the matter until after the first of next July, the appropriations of $100,000 for the erection of the building, and of $25,000 for the purchase of land, become null and void.
The McCooks, represented by Attorney Anson McCook, fought the state's efforts to condemn their property. The case found its way to the state Superior Court that ruled in favor of the McCook's. In 1930, the state gave up on the Niantic site, and instead purchased property in nearby Waterford, CT to build a new facility that opened in 1934.