Page 50 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - New England

48 ❯❯ The Top 10 of Everything

Villages

Old Lyme, CT
1
MAP D5
If Old Lyme was not actually the
cradle of American Impressionism,
it was at least the art movement’s
summer camp from 1899 into the
1930s. Surprisingly little of either the
landscape or the town has changed
since that artistic heyday. Unlock the
history with a visit to the Florence
Griswold Museum (see p98), where
many of the artists lodged.
Tiverton Four Corners,
2 Colonial architecture, Wethersfield
RI
The crossroads at the center of
Wethersfield, CT
rural Tiverton on the east side of 4
Narragansett Bay is filled with Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum:
boutiques, antiques shops, and art 211 Main St, Wethersfield, CT; 860
galleries set in largely 18th-century 569 0612; open May–Oct; adm;
buildings. The surrounding country- www.webb-deane-stevens.org
side is noted for its handsome Founded in 1634 as one of the three
historical stone walls and pastoral original settlements in Connecticut,
landscapes. The town also boasts Wethersfield remains an enclave of
an outstanding ice-cream stand, an some of the most striking Colonial
excellent bakery, and a gourmet shop structures in the country – although
featuring local products (see p88). architecture buffs can get equally
excited about the distinctive early
Grafton, VT
3 20th-century Hubbard Bungalows.
A visit to the three 18th-century
This genteel village bunched
around a 200-year-old tavern epito- homes of the Webb-Deane-Stevens
mizes rustic Vermont charm. Grafton Museum provides visitors with an
Village Cheese Company makes top interesting insight into the roots of
Vermont cheddars (see p108). the Colonial Revival movement in
American style (see p95).
Wiscasset, ME
5
Nickels-Sortwell House:
121 Main St, Wiscasset, ME; 207
882 7169; open Jun–mid-Oct; adm;
www.historicnewengland.org
A thriving shipbuilding town in the
18th and 19th centuries, Wiscasset
immodestly claims to be the
“prettiest village in Maine.” With
baronial sea captains’ homes that
define the Federal style, a charming
waterfront, and a generous sprink-
ling of boutiques and restaurants,
it just might be. The 1807 Nickels-
Sortwell House, built for a wealthy
ship owner, recaptures Wiscasset’s
Entrance to the old tavern, Grafton glorious past (see p124).

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