Catastophe strikes

I tried unsuccessfully online to figure out what the old Pequot Casino in the map was. Then I found a web site called ConnecticutHistory.org and sent them a jpeg of the map along with my question. Shortly, I heard back from a kind soul named Emma Wiley at the Connecticut Endowment for the Humanities who told me that they don’t have the capacity to answer such inquiries. Still, she found this archived New York times article from 1908. Turns out the Pequot Casino was a social club on New London’s Harbor, and that it burned to the ground that August.

Emma suggested that I write the New London County Historical Society, so I emailed them my map and the NYT article. They were quite interested, and especially so when I later asked them if they’d like the map as a donation. I packed it up and sent it to Jim in Stonington. He delivered it to the Shaw Mansion, home of the Historical Society, and it will be hung in the research library. The old mansion is only a few blocks away from the former Pequot Casino.

Presumably, since the Pequot Casino was destroyed in 1908, the map was created sometime earlier. Hopefully, one of the many local historians will use the map to gain further insights into New London history and figure out who the artist might have been. Perhaps it was a late 19th Century artist imagining early colonial times. Maybe clues lie within the frame or on the back of the print.

The wider picture

Now, having learned that the map shows a piece of New London Harbor, we can place the map fairly precisely in the wider landscape of New London Harbor. Again, the long arm of Google was able to help us with a contemporary birds-eye view.

During my preliminary research, I also received a nice reply from the government of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation that explained the use of the work “Pequot” in the map:

“The “Pequot Casino” you are referring to was actually a local social club, not an actual gambling “casino”, which existed in the early 1900’s and was in no way affiliated with our Tribe.  Many municipalities throughout history have used historic tribal names (such as our “Pequot” name) to name various locations such as street signs, buildings and businesses which are located within our historic territorial region.  Hope this helps.”