Tag Archives: Sherwood Mill Pond

Roundup: VFW, WLL, YMCA …

Posted on June 8, 2025 | 4 comments

Members of Westport’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 399 know the importance of displaying the American flag.

And disposing of it properly.

That got a bit easier yesterday. Will Bernard donated a handcrafted US flag retirement drop box to the Riverside Avenue post. It’s part of his Scout Troop 39 Eagle Scout project.

The custom-built box offers a respectful way for anyone to retire worn and weathered US flags.

VFW Post 399 conducts ceremonial flag retirements throughout the year. Each flag is respectfully and properly disposed of, in accordance with the American Flag Code.

Will Bernard and VFW quartermaster Phil Delgado, with Will’s US flag retirement drop box.

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Over 250 people honored 2 non-profits last week: Circle of Care and Project Morry.

The event was held by !mpaCT – a group of mostly Westport residents who raise money and awareness for local charities primarily focused on helping children.

!mpaCT was formed in 2017 by parents of children at TCS Preschool. They wanted their youngsters to learn empathy and the importance of volunteering,” says co-founder Eric Ritter.

Each year they select 1 or 2 charities, which receives 100% of the funds raised at a gala. That’s $100,000 to $200,000 each time.

Also raised: awareness. Attendees learn about each organization’s impact — and needs.

Circle of Care provides financial, emotional and practical support to children with cancer and their families. They have helped over 3,800 area families with programs like day-of-diagnosis care bags, dream room makeovers and non-medical financial assistance.

Project Morry empowers young children from under-resourced communities in the tri-state area through comprehensive academic enrichment and educational programs, summer learning, life-changing camp experiences, and one-on-one mentoring. Over 255 children have graduated from their programs.

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Congratulations to the Rangers — Westport Little League Majors champions. They beat the Mets in the big title game.

From left: Kneeling: Blake Stuart, Cole Stanger, Christian Jo. Middle row: Akash Mattoo, John Conry, Jack Kingsley, Ashton Rubin, Justin Mastrocciolo, Cameron Gregory. Coaches: Kelly Stuart, Ken Stanger, James Kingsley, Scott Mastrocciolo.

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The 101st annual meeting of the Westport Weston Family YMCA is set for June 16 (6 p.m., Mahackeno Outdoor Center).

In addition to the business meeting, staff members and volunteers will be honored.

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Spotted at Sherwood Mill Pond, on the way to Compo Cove:

(Photo/DinkinESH Fotografix)

There must be a back story. If you know it, please click “Comments” below.

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Longtime Westporter Patricia Lewis died last Sunday at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport. She was 88.

The Bridgeport native was married to Raymond H. Lewis for 50 years, before his death in 2008.

She had a long career in marketing, and enjoyed her time as a technical writer.

While raising her children and working, she obtained her bachelor’s degree from Sacred Heart University.

Patricia loved traveling, and cooking for her family.

Survivors include her son Vernon (Lynn) of Trumbull; daughter Lisa Setian (Steve) of Harwichport, Massachusetts; grandchildren Christopher, Cassidy, Taylor, Jeremy and Melany; great-grandchild Tyson, and daughter-in-law Leslie Fairbaugh. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her son Stephen and sister Barbara Money.

The family will receive friends in the Harding Funeral Home on Tuesday (June 10, 10 a.m.). A funeral service will take place in the funeral home at 11 a.m.. Burial will follow in Willowbrook Cemetery. Online condolences may be left at www.hardingfuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Connecticut Humane Society.

Patricia Lewis

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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” image is one of our best — and coolest — ever.

Photographer Lou Weinberg writes: “Pollination is awesome…and essential.

“This photo is of one of Connecticut’s native bees, taking time to clean its antenna while gathering pollen from, and pollinating, a Lupine flower.

“Bee antenna perform the critical sensory functions of touch, smell, taste, and even hearing. They also help with navigation, orientation, communication, detecting carbon dioxide, and building honeycomb. There are over 300 different species of native bees in Connecticut.

“The sharp spike on the flower, called the ‘keel,’ is exposed when the bee lands on the bottom petal of the flower. The keel houses both the male and female parts of the flower.

“You can tell this bee has been gathering for a while, because of the large yellow/gold pollen sacks on its back legs.”

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And finally … today is National Best Friends Day. To celebrate…

(Want to be a BFF with “06880”? Just click here, to make a tax-deductible contribution that supports our work. Thank you!)

4 Comments

Posted in Obituaries, YMCA

Tagged !mpaCT, Circle of Care, Project Morry, Sherwood Mill Pond, VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399, Westport Little League, Westport Troop 39

Pic Of The Day #2931

Posted on April 28, 2025 | Comments Off

Moon over Sherwood Mill Pond (Photo/James White)

Comments Off on Pic Of The Day #2931

Posted in Beach, Pic of the Day

Tagged Sherwood Mill Pond

Pic Of The Day #2815

Posted on January 2, 2025 | 10 comments

A view you never see: the back of the Hummock Island oysterhouse from the north. Sherwood Mill Pond, and homes in the Old Mill/ Hillspoint Road neighborhood, are beyond. (Drone photo/John Videler for Videler Photography)

10 Comments

Posted in Beach, Pic of the Day

Tagged Hummock Island, Sherwood Mill Pond

Pics Of The Day #2811

Posted on December 29, 2024 | Comments Off

Sherwood Mill Pond, in today’s fog … (Photo/Gregg Jacobs)

… and the Mill Pond’s Hummock Island, yesterday (Photo/RB Benson)

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Posted in Beach, Pic of the Day

Tagged Hummock Island, Sherwood Mill Pond

Compo Cove, 1731-2024: Squatters, Builders And Back Stories

Posted on December 24, 2024 | 5 comments

The recent kerfuffle over the town’s $5.58 million repair of the Sherwood Mill Pond — and the related issue of whether, in return, taxpayers (and others) should have access to adjacent Compo Mill Cove, through now-locked gates — has shined a light on one of the most intriguing spots in Westport.

Which raises another related question: How did that patch of land, between Old Mill Beach and Sherwood Island State Park, come to be inhabited?

John Coleburn knew.

The son of one of 2 brothers who built the first homes on the property, he put his recollections on paper in 1982. Recently, Jim Gallagher — Coleburn’s son-in-law — sent them to “06880.”

More than 40 years ago, Coleburn prefaced his remembrances by sayng they came from family stories he heard during summers on the Cove.

“This narrative is certainly far from factual,” he wrote.

But it is fascinating.

Compo Mill Cove (right) is accessible via 2 pedestrian bridges; underneath them are Sherwood Mill Pond (top) tidal gates. Old Mill Beach and Old Mill houses are at left. (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)

Around 1900, Coleburn said, the Old Mill itself — today a private home on the water, closest to the 2 tidal gates and pedestrian bridges leading to Compo Cove — was occupied by an artist named Neil Mitchell.

A relative named Borden, who lived on Old Mill Beach, disputed the town of Westport’s claim that it owned that beach.

Lengthy litigation — along with fights among Old Mill residents, torn-down fences and burning of property, Coleburn said — eventually wound up at the Connecticut Supreme Court.

The lawsuits found that the Old Mill dated back to 1731, when a Westchester man asked the town of Fairfield (of which Westport was then part) for land, to establish a grist mill. He promised to grind corn and grain in perpetuity — and at no cost — for nearby farmers.

The original Sherwood Mill Pond grist mill.

Ida Coley — John Coleburn’s father — spent part of her childhood at her family’s homestead at the crest of Route 57 in Weston. (The Coley house is now part of the Weston History & Culture Center.)

She was a member of Norfield Congregational Church. The mill had closed by then. Each summer, the church rented it, for a youth camp.

Ida married jeweler Henry Coleburn in 1899. She told him stories about the area where she camped as a child. Henry and his brother Arthur, a doctor, looked at the land. They thought it would be ideal for vacation cottages.

Ownership of the Cove was difficult to trace. A man from as far away as St. Louis may once have had a deed to it.

The Coleburn brothers finally purchased the entire area. Old Mill residents were not pleased. They called them “damn squatters.”

One of the original Coleburn homes is being extensively renovated.

The Coleburns built a summer house around 1903. It was located on Long Island Sound, close to where #46 (the second house on the right) is now.

Another home was soon built next door. The original was moved to its present location: the only one on the left side of the Cove, just over the bridge. (It has since been enlarged.)

John Coleburn remembered it being relocated on skids, by a team of horses.

43 Compo Mill Cove was originally located across the pedestrian path.

There were no bridges. People walked to Compo Cove on the timbers on which the tidal gates were hinged.

Rowboats brought in heavy items like ice for preservation, and kerosene for cooking and lighting.

A Mr. Perry of Hillspoint Road used his horse and wagon to haul even heavier goods like furniture and trunks, crossing the sandbar at low tide.

The Coleburn brothers sold lots on the Cove to their friends “so a congenial group would result,” John Coleburn wrote. The price was $250 per lot.

Dr. Coleburn did not like trespassers. He confronted them with a .45 pistol. Once, he smashed dozens of glass bottles at a spot where “outsiders” sunbathed.

For decades, youngsters have swum near the pedestrian bridges leading to Compo Cove. “Outsiders” were not welcome further.

A psychiatrist named Dr. Diefendorf brought patients to live at his cottage. Believing in “work therapy for the disturbed,” he had them build “the most meticulously groomed tennis court in Westport.”

They also constructed beautiful flower and vegetable gardens, plus stone walks and terraces with rocks they collected on Cockenoe Island, and rowed back — with great difficulty — to the Cove.

John Coleburn’s history of Compo Cove includes information about many other original owners. One was the Raymond family, which came from Buffalo for summers in the early 1920s.

Allen Raymond’s family home has been torn down. (Photo courtesy of Westport Journal)

Their son Allen Raymond became the greatest contributor to Westport in every facet of life — educational, recreational, spiritual — than anyone since the Bedford family.

The most famous resident of Compo Mill Cove contributed unfathomable amounts of time, energy (and money) to the Green’s Farms Congregational Church, and the YMCA. He led the Westport Historical Society into the modern era, and Earthplace to sustainability.

Perhaps his greatest gift was his leadership in the town’s purchase of Longshore — a failing private country club a mile away from his boyhood summer home. He loved that house on the Cove immensely, and lived there with joy for 91 years.

Like generations of residents, he could thank John and Arthur Coleburn for their vision and persistence.

And, perhaps, “squatting” on land whose original ownership may never be known.

(“06880” is where Westport meets the world — and our town’s history meets today’s life. If you enjoy our hyper-local coverage, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

5 Comments

Posted in Beach, Looking back

Tagged Allen Raymond, Compo Mill Cove, Old Mill Beach, Sherwood Mill Pond

Life-Changing Memories Of Compo Cove

Posted on December 17, 2024 | 11 comments

After Jennifer Johnson published an Opinion piece on “06880” last tweek, urging open access to Compo Mill Cove in exchange for the town’s expenditure of $5.58 million to rebuild 2 tidal gates at Sherwood Mill Pond, leading to the Cove’s pedestrian pathway, and homes, dozens of readers contacted her.

Many offered to help support removing the locked gate and “Private Property/No Trespassing” sign, installed over a decade ago.

Johnson — a Representative Town Meeting member — thanked each one. She’s organizing a Google group, and will set up a Zoom meeting for early January.

She was particularly touched by a note from someone who no longer lives here. Lynn Castelli wrote:

I am a former resident of Compo Beach. From 1956 to 1982 my parents, Albert and Ruth Castelli, owned the property at 7 Soundview Drive. As a child and teenager, one my greatest pleasures (and now fondest memories) was walking from my home to Sherwood Island via the sandy path beyond the Mill Pond sluice gates.

Tidal gate at Sherwood Mill Pond (Photo/Paul Delano)

Growing up on Compo Beach I often walked the coastline from my home, over the jetty, over the boulders, along the shore to Old Mill Beach and then onto the bridge above the sluice gates. There I would stand to rest and watch the rushing waters from the Mill Pond flow beneath me. Then I proceeded to the quiet, sandy path that led me to Sherwood Island.

There has been no other place in my lifetime that has filled me with as much joy and wonder as did this small strip of coastline. Practically at our front door and beyond, the waters of Long Island Sound sparkled clear and teemed with life.

My father and I fished and harvested mussels, oysters and clams. There was abundant bird life everywhere. I saw my first seahorse at Old Mill Beach. The sands between the Mill Pond and Sherwood Island were a treasure trove of clam, oyster, scallop shells and sea glass. It saddens me to think that others are deprived access to the magic of the Mill Pond walkway.

Compo Cove, and the pedestrain path. When Lynn Castelli was young, the homes were much smaller.

Sentiment may not win the day in the attempt to unlock the gate to the walkway. But I hope that words still have the power to move those in whose hands this decision rests. Surely I am not alone in my reverence for the beauty to be found between the shores of Old Mill Beach, the gate to the Mill Pond walkway and beyond to Sherwood Island.

I sincerely hope that the Mill Pond walkway will once again be accessible. I would love to know that other children and their families might experience the enchantment to be found there. Too, I would be overjoyed to learn that I may return to Old Mill Beach and retrace my steps to Sherwood Island.

Thank you for sparing the time to read my message. I hope that by sharing my perspective others will understand more deeply what residents who stand outside the gate might gain by having access.

Experiences in nature, especially for children, are life-altering. The path from Compo Beach to Sherwood Island was an adventure I was delighted to repeat and share with my friends and family over and over again.

I was fortunate to be able to pass freely onto the path beyond the Mill Pond. May others pass freely in the future.

Old Mill, Sherwood Mill Pond, and Compo Cove (right). (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)

(“06880” is your hyper-local source for news and information about the Westport of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

11 Comments

Posted in Beach, Environment, Looking back

Tagged Compo Cove, Jennifer Johnson, Sherwood Mill Pond

OPINION: Reclaim Compo Cove’s Pedestrian Path

Posted on December 12, 2024 | 34 comments

Jennifer Johnson, her husband and 2 daughters moved to Westport in 2006.

She has worked in financial services, and for open space and land preservation organizations.

Jennifer has served on Westport’s Westport Parks & Recreation Commission, Compo Beach Site Improvement Committee, and is an executive committee member for the South Western Regional Planning Agency. She was a director of the Westport Transit District, and is a member of the Representative Town Meeting.

Following a recent vote by the legislative body, she writes:

Last month the RTM and Board of Finance voted to approve an expenditure of $5.58 million to rebuild 2 tidal gates at Sherwood Mill Pond.

The funding also includes rebuilding the pedestrian walkway that connects Sherwood Mill Beach to Compo Cove. There is a locked gate on the eastern end of the walkway. It was installed by Cove residents, and prevents public access to the Compo Mill Cove pathway along the southeastern shore of the Mill Pond.

Locked gate at the entrance to Compo Cove.

During the RTM meeting, questions arose regarding the gate: Why is it locked? Why can’t pedestrians walk along the Compo Mill Cove pathway like they used to? What about access to the mean high water line that belongs to all residents? Can the plan for the new taxpayer-funded walkway include some form of reclaimed access to the Compo Mill Cove pathway and/or tideland that is now blocked by the gate?

Given that the funding approval was time-sensitive, the RTM correctly approved the funding and tabled the pedestrian access issue. With the funding secured and the construction period deferred until spring, now is the time for Westport to find a solution to reclaim pedestrian access to the Compo Mill Cove pathway and tidelands once enjoyed by all, not just the dozen or so homeowners who live there (some part time).

While rebuilding the tide gate and walkway is both expensive and complicated, regaining public access to the Compo Mill Cove pathway and/or tidelands should be fairly straightforward.

Compo Cove residents should simply agree to open the gate between sunrise and sunset (an easy solution that could be programmed into the gate’s lock). Since the public is paying the hefty price tag to fund the walkway’s reconstruction — a walkway that Cove residents rely on to access their property — this seems like a fair and reasonable tradeoff.

Pedestrian path, and Compo Cove. The locked gate is near the bottom of the photo.

This simple solution reflects an increasing trend across the country. Private property owners are granting pedestrian easements to their land, for the express purpose of allowing the public to respectfully walk across a defined pathway during daylight hours.

The public historically had access, until the locked gate appeared about 20 years ago. As the years passed, and one by one the island’s historic bungalows were replaced with sizable rebuilds (like this $12.250 million recent listing), public access vanished.

I anticipate some Cove residents may raise security concerns. But those could readily be addressed by a police camera at the gate and/or residents installing readily-available security systems, if they haven’t already. The timed gate — combined with the general lack of car access — should prevent any opportunities for mischief, beyond the kinds of things beach residents typically contend with currently.

Alternatively, the town could initiate a small project to construct access points from the rebuilt walkway to the tidal land along either side of the walkway. This solution would only provide access at low tide. But some access is better than none.

If you are interested in joining this effort, please send contact information to millpondwalkway@gmail.com.

Aerial view of Compo Cove, with Sherwood Mill Pond (top). The arrow shows the gate location.

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34 Comments

Posted in Beach, Local politics

Tagged Compo Cove, Jennifer Johnson, Representative Town Meetng, Sherwood Mill Pond

Roundup: Fire Warning, Pies & Pizza, Martha Stewart …

Posted on November 8, 2024 | 16 comments

A “Red Flag” warning is in effect through 6 p.m. tonight. It’s issued during dangerous fire conditions due to strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures.

Any fire may spread quickly, and possibly out of control.

The Westport Fire Department says that outdoor fires are prohibited; cigarettes should be disposed of responsibility, and the public should call 911 immediately in the case of fire.

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AP has called the Pennsylvania Senate race for David McCormick.

The Republican ousted 3-term incumbent Democrat Bob Casey, after a campaign in which McCormick’s residency was scrutinized.

The former Bridgewater CEO — born and raised near Pittsburgh — owns a home on Beachside Avenue. Critics claimed that is where he spent most of his time, including during the early days of the campaign.

This year’s contest was the second most expensive race in the country.

Senator-elect David McCormick

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Like many Westporters, Carl Addison Swanson has noticed the 16 new signs (with blinking lights) (and other features) on Cross Highway, between North Avenue and Bayberry Lane.

It’s part of the town’s Safety Action Plan.

Carl says, “I can understand some emphasis for kids going over to the Porch sometimes for a burger.

“But North is far more traveled by children than Cross. Why the focus on Cross? That is what a $25,000 study will get you.

And, he adds, “in my opinion there should be traffic lights vice stop signs at key stops around town.”

One of 16 signs in the Cross Highway corridor. (Photo/Jo Ann Miller)

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There are plenty of places to get great Thanksgiving pies.

One of them includes a special treat: Every one you buy helps fight hunger.

Wakeman Town Farms’ “Thanksgiving Pies for Good” — a collaboration with Earth Animal’s Mitten Project — benefits CTFoodShares.

This year’s sale features freshly baked 9-inch pies: apple, apple crumb, blueberry, blueberry crumb, cherry, cherry crumb, and pumpkin. All are from Oronoque Farms.

Want something extra (and an extra helping of goodness for others)? Make your order à la mode, with Madagascar vanilla or bourbon brown sugar from Lindsay’s Handmade Ice Cream.

Pies are $20 each; ice cream is $20 per pint. Click here to order. The deadline is noon on November 22.

Pickup is Monday, November 25, 4 to 7 p.m. only at Wakeman Town Farm. Pies that are not picked up will be donated to local food pantries.

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As for that other all-American food — pizza — Riko’s celebrates their arrival in Westport this Saturday (November 9, 2 to 4 p.m.), with a free festival.

The new restaurant — replacing Mystic Market (and before that, Blu Parrot, Jasmine and the Arrow restaurant) on Charles Street, opposite the railroad station parking lot and Luciano Park — will offer a bouncy house, face painting, temporary tattoos, balloon twisting, a photo booth and more.

Plus, of course, free pizzas.

Almost ready. (Photo/Matt Murray)

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Among the capital projects proposed for Westport: repairing the pedestrian bridge to Compo Cove, and the tidal gates there.

Yesterday, nearly half of the Representative Town Meeting took a field trip to the site, accessible only by a pedestrian bridge.

Department of Public Works director Pete Ratkiewich led the excursion. Last night, the appropriation was discussed at a meeting of the RTM’s Finance, Public Works and Environment Committees.

On Tuesday, the full body is the final vote on the $5.58 million request. It was approved unanimously Wednesday night by the Board of Finance.

RTM members on the Compo Cove pedestrian bridge. Moderator Jeff Wieser is at the far left. (Photo/Matt Murray)

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Speaking of the Mill Pond, Larry Hoy sends this photo:

He writes: “A bucolic scene. But is it me, or has the cute little oyster farm at Old Mill turned into a full-blown industrial operation with 9 workers, generators and heavy equipment on several barges, harvesting and cleaning oysters to be sold to restaurants?

“I’m aware of the King’s Grant for the Mill Pond and parts of Long Island Sound here. But does that allow this level of noisy and questionably clean production to be done in what is essentially a residential neighborhood?

“The quiet walks on the Mill Pond bridge aren’t so peaceful and beautiful.”

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“Martha” — R.J. Cutler’s documentary about the much-admired yet very controversial lifestyle guru/businesswoman/TV personality — is now on Netflix, after a series of film festival screenings.

Dave Briggs watched it, and caught a couple of references to her Westport years.

She calls it “the furthest commuting town from New York.”

As for Turkey Hill — the name she gave her home and garden on the road of the same name — “we had to have (it), to fix it up …. If I hadn’t had Turkey Hill I wouldn’t be me, right now. I would have been somebody else. I just wouldn’t have been Martha Stewart, homemaker.”

She also discusses her husband’s — and her own — infidelities during their marriage here.

So what does Martha think of “Martha”? Click here.

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The sky’s the limit for the Westport Astronomical Society’s 2025 calendar.

It’s filled with great photos from amateur astro-photographers Michael Southam, Jasper Southam, Regina Olshan, Carol Quinn, Franco Fellah, Stuart Stakoff, Kurt Zeppetello, Celia Campbell-Mohn, Dana Weisbrot, Carl Lancaster, Phil Harrington, Louis Tancredi, Dr. Steven Labkoff and

The Westport Astronomical Society’s amateur astrophotographers found the best photons again this year with offerings from WAS members Michael Southam, Jasper Southam, Regina Olshan, Carol Quinn, Franco Fellah, Stuart Stakoff, Kurt Zeppetello, Celia Campbell-Mohn, Dana Weisbrot, Carl Lancaster, Phil Harrington, Louis Tancredi, Dr. Steven Labkoff and WAS president Shannon Calvert — plus daily astronomical data.

The cost is $20 for members, $25 for non-members. Shipping is $5 for 1-2 calendars, $10 for 3-5. Email kathy@was-ct.org; include your mailing address, and number of calendars requested. An invoice will be emailed back to you.

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Speaking of the sky: Everyone has heard of Stonehenge. Many have also heard of Manhattanhenge.

But what about Longshorehenge?

John Richers spotted this on the entrance road yesterday, at 4:10 p.m.:

(Photo/John Richers)

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If you’ve been thinking, “Westport is a pretty great town, but what we really need is another nail spa”: Your prayers have been answered.

The oddly named Monday Nail Spa will move into the vacant space next to the Westport Post Office.

Probably not Monday. But soon.

(Photo/Molly Alger)

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STAR Lighting the Way has a new president: Westporter Doree Levy.

At the recent gala, she shared her vision for the future of the non-profit, which empowers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families.

Doree — a longtime STAR advocate — pledged to “do everything in my power to ensure that STAR will be there to watch over the young and the old, giving them the care and quality of life they deserve.”

New STAR president Doree Levy and her husband Bob are staunch supporters of the organization. (Photo/Miggs Burroughs)

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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” image is a gorgeous view of Winslow Park.

Photographer Mark Mathias calls it “a two-fer. First, regardless of one’s political leanings, voting for dogs is fun.

“Second, earlier this week the town mowed the big hill. All we need now is a good dumping of snow. An entire crop of kids with sleds will magically appear.”