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Shippan Point, A Waterfront Community in Stamford, CT

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Welcome to Shippan, a peninsula of 800 acres extending south into Long Island Sound.

“By the Water, but Down to Earth” -New York Times

Shippan is an ideal residential community with its broad mile long avenue, beautiful plantings and scenic beaches.​​

Once farmland bought from the American Indians and tended by English settlers, then a summer play land for the wealthy, Shippan Point is steeped in history and one of Stamford’s most desirable neighborhoods.

Now, its wide, mile long main avenue, multiple beaches and beautiful homes make the perfect setting for families to flourish year round.

Shippan Point Association

The Shippan Point Association (SPA) was formed in 1902 and sought to protect the beauty of the neighborhood. 

Today, the SPA continues to protect and beautify the area while building a community through neighborhood events, regular information meetings, tree planting, police patrol and much more.

Becoming a member of the Shippan Point Association is an important part of becoming involved in the community and maintaining the strength and integrity of the neighborhood we all have chosen to make our home. 

Mission Statement

The Shippan Point Association, Inc. is a voluntary, non-political, non-profit corporation organized to safeguard the mutual interest and welfare of its members; to preserve and enhance the physical beauty and tranquility of the area; to ensure the safety of its inhabitants; to protect the integrity of the environment and the historic nature of Shippan Point as well as the value of the individual properties located there; and to do all and everything necessary, suitable, and proper for the attainment of any of these purposes, including, without limitation, submissions to and appearances before municipal, state, and federal boards and agencies.​​​

2024 Officers of the Board

Chairperson of the Board: Jay Keeshan

President: Sarah Black

Vice-President: Michele Freshwater

Treasurer: Brian Jay

Secretary: Ian Schindelman

Communications: Jill Luciani

Board of Directors

Term expiring 05/2024.

• Judy Campisi (Harbor Drive)
• Brian Jay (ODW)
• Valerie Rickens (Sea Beach)
• Ian Schindelman (Van Rensselaer)

TERM EXPIRING 05/2025

• Tom Brennan, Sr. (Shippan)
• Charlie Dill (Auldwood)
• Michele Freshwater (ODW)
• Shelley Gibson (Woolsey)
• Jay Keeshan (Van Rensselaer)
• Andrew Krill (Mitchell)
• Jill Luciani (Van Rensselaer)

TERM EXPIRING 05/2026

• Sarah Black (ODW)
• Andy Chang (Sea Beach)
• Saira Hopper (Stamford)
• David Lasnick (Hobson)
• Brenda Lewis (Mohegan)
• Panthea O’Connell (Downs)
• Richard Recker (ODW)
• Bob Unnold (Lanark)

District Reps

David watkins, tom kuczynsky, annual newsletter, volunteer spotlight, social media.

Useful Links

City of Stamford

Stamford Recycling & Sanitation

Fix-It Stamford

Stamford Public Schools

Stamford Property Tax

Stamford History Center

Shippan Point Garden Club

Shippan Point Gourmet Club

Stamford Yacht Club

Woodway Beach Club

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Living On | Shippan Point, Conn.

By the Water, but Down to Earth

By C. J. Hughes

• Feb. 10, 2011

ON a recent frigid day, crusty snow covered the deck of a boat named Paradox, docked at the Halloween Yacht Club in Shippan Point, a section of Stamford that juts into Long Island Sound.

The boat’s name seemed apt, given the incongruity of finding such a symbol of summer encased like an ice pop. And the sight served as a reminder of other quirks.

Shippan Point’s peninsula is ringed with vulnerable ground, some of which has been fortified with dikes ever since hurricanes decades ago. These earthen walls cut off some homes from the water. Yet residents of this enclave, commonly known just by its first name (pronounced ship-PAN), are irrepressible sailors, kayakers and swimmers — the last people, seemingly, to let a little storm-protection barrier get in their way.

It is the kind of place where homes are owned by the same people for so many years that family names linger in association with the real estate, sometimes long after new residents move in.

Technically a suburb, and home to many New York City commuters, Shippan defies the car-dependent stereotype of other bedroom communities, according to residents, who say that in warmer weather they mostly go places by foot. This may be why neighborhood roads are so thoroughly punctuated with yellow pedestrian-crossing signs.

The sociability factor was a major reason Will Hickey moved here from Massachusetts last spring. “Going for a walk and running into people you know goes a long way,” said Mr. Hickey, who grew up in Shippan, and who in returning to Connecticut decided Noroton, a section of Darien, wasn’t convivial enough.

For Mr. Hickey, who works as an investment manager in downtown Stamford, assets like the well-attended Fourth of July children’s parade and the Thanksgiving morning running race trumped issues like the length of time it takes to get to the store. (Shippan is almost entirely zoned for houses.)

“I can literally borrow eggs from neighbors if I need them,” said Mr. Hickey, 33, who has embraced the community’s open-door policy ever since he and his wife and two children moved into their new three-bedroom Dutch colonial, which cost $770,000.

Cathy Huskins, too, was itching to move back after an absence. She had lived in Shippan for three years when in 2008 she decamped for a six-bedroom colonial in woodsy North Stamford, so she could be closer to a daughter, Lisa.

The streets turned out to be too quiet for her liking, so she ended up finding a renter for the colonial and moving back to Shippan. In 2009 she bought a 1940s Cape for $600,000, and set to work renovating its plumbing, heating and electrical systems.

In early February Ms. Huskins, who works in downtown Stamford as a mortgage broker, was busy preparing a turtle cheesecake for 2011’s first Gourmet Club party, a traditional Shippan event that this time had New Orleans as a theme. Most such parties are held in spacious dining rooms. But for all Shippan’s obvious affluence, its also has a sizable blue-collar population — police officers along with business executives are on the board of the Shippan Point Association , which plants flowers and hosts parties. The mix, Ms. Huskins said, lends Shippan a heterogeneity not found in similar waterside enclaves, say in Greenwich, for example.

“You have people who are tremendously wealthy,” she said. “But you also have people who are just making it. It’s down to earth.”

WHAT YOU’LL FIND

Traveling to Shippan on Magee Avenue, one passes a ragtag strip of window stores, upholsterers and garages, then a sprawling wastewater treatment plant, before arriving at the junction of Magee, Harbor Drive and Shippan Avenue, which most agree marks the neighborhood’s northern boundary.

Shippan’s tree-flanked grid of streets, lined with mostly quarter- and half-acre lots, presents such a striking contrast to the neighboring industrial zone that the sight of a Marriott hotel, glimpsed from the crest of Shippan Avenue, might be passed off as a mirage.

Once a seasonal community but now mostly year-round, Shippan has about 8,000 residents, in 1,200 homes spread across a square mile. The most eye-catching are French chateaus, Tudors and Mediterraneans, dating from the 1920s, with a few prime examples on Saddle Rock Road. Others are found here and there at the ends of long driveways, some with lawns that roll down to the water. Of the houses set well back along Ocean Drive East, one is the cupola-topped former barn that belongs to Connecticut’s new governor, Dannel P. Malloy.

In recent decades, developers carved up estates and resorts to squeeze a bit more value from the land, which is why newer houses seem to sprout from the lawns of mansions. In the 1980s, for example, the Ocean View Beach Club gave way to Ocean View Drive, where half a dozen new colonials crowd a cul-de-sac by Fairview Avenue’s tiny public beach.

There are multifamily homes along what residents call the “Indian” streets — for instance, Rippowam Road, which ends at the tall dike separating it from West Beach. Shippan’s 250 condominiums, which are mainly along Harbor Drive, date mostly to the 1980s. One of them, Palmer Landing, has 78 two- and three-bedroom town houses.

WHAT YOU’LL PAY

There were 26 single-family houses for sale in early February, at an average price of $1.31 million, according to the Greater Fairfield County Consolidated Multiple Listing Service .

The listings ranged from a two-bedroom Cape on busy Shippan Avenue, for $400,000, to a five-bedroom colonial with a private beach on ritzy Rogers Road for $4.75 million. The 11 condos, listed for an average of $526,000, ranged from a two-bedroom, at $349,000, to a three-bedroom at $869,000.

Historically Shippan is Stamford’s priciest area, brokers say. But it has not shown immunity to the downturn. In 2006, according to the listing service, 53 homes sold, at an average of $1.58 million, while in 2010, 30 homes sold, for an average of $1.33 million. Condos also were hit: 33 sold in 2006, at an average of $604,000, whereas 12 sold in 2010, at an average of $507,000.

Years ago, buyers tended to come from within the local population — so much so that the term “Shippan shuffle” was coined. That trend is not as pronounced these days, said Elayne Jassey, a broker with Prudential Connecticut Realty. She notes other buyers’ discovering what she describes as “one of the most attractive waterfront communities in Fairfield County.”

About 300 families pay $40 a year to belong to the Shippan Point Association. And the 30-year-old Gourmet Club has 140 members, who take part every other month in a themed potluck-style group dinner held at various houses. Organizers take pains to ensure that no two guests are at the same party again for three years running.

With half a dozen clubs and marinas at which to moor a boat, as well as some private backyard slips, Shippan also offers a range of beaches. Some of them are technically public, like the one at the end of Shippan Avenue at the pair of blinking red lights. But parking restrictions limit access.

One exception to Shippan’s no-commerce rule is Brennan’s Restaurant and Pub, on Iroquois Road, whose compact wood-lined interior feels as snug as the galley of a ship. Lunch specials, scrawled on white boards with markers, include a Cajun-style catfish sandwich ($11).

THE SCHOOLS

Not far from Shippan, Rogers International School teaches kindergarten through eighth grade; although a public school, it offers a version of the International Baccalaureate program for younger students.

Last year, 83 percent of third-graders met state standards in reading, 92 percent in math and 93 percent in writing. Statewide, those numbers were 72 percent, 84 percent and 80 percent.

Many Shippan teenagers attend Stamford High School , one of three public high schools in the general area. SAT averages last year were 485 in reading, 495 in math and 482 in writing, versus 505, 510 and 510 statewide.

THE COMMUTE

Shippan Point is about 40 miles by car to Midtown Manhattan. The No. 44 Connecticut Transit bus loops through Shippan. From Stamford Avenue, the route’s southernmost stop, five buses depart from 5:51 to 8:01 a.m.; they arrive at the city’s Metro-North Railroad station, on the New Haven Line, 20 minutes later. Monthly bus passes are $45.

Express service to Grand Central Terminal takes less than 50 minutes — although the severe winter and aging equipment have recently forced a 10 percent temporary cut in the number of rush-hour trains. A monthly pass costs $258.72 online.

THE HISTORY

Near the Shippan Point welcome sign stands a nine-foot pink marble statue of two women carved by Henry Kreis in 1937 through the Works Progress Administration. It used to stand in Stamford, at the Fairfield Court housing project, but that was razed in 2009. Once on its new site, the statue fell victim to vandalism: One of its figures was decapitated. The missing head eventually turned up in a Shippan backyard; last fall it was reattached.

The State of Real Estate

Whether you’re renting, buying or selling, here’s a look at real estate trends..

Charter schools are popping up in struggling malls  as landlords look for alternative tenants and communities seek to increase educational opportunities.

As housing costs soar, Washington State wants to limit annual rent increases to 7%. The move is part of a wider trend to impose statewide rent caps .

Developers across the United States are transforming clusters of old homes into micro restaurants  to cater to the needs of surrounding neighborhoods.

Smaller houses in subdivisions and exurbs are turning into a popular option  for people hoping to hold on to ownership in an increasingly expensive U.S. housing market.

Frequent natural disasters and high inflation have led home insurers to raise their premiums. That is forcing many customers to pare back their policies .

Black people make up about 14% of the American population. Some of them, wondering what it would be like to be part of a majority, are finding new homes in Africa .

Vineyard Race

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1914-01-13: Stamford Yacht Club on Shippan Point Up In Flames on a Cold Winter Night

By now Retired Firefighter Joseph Lombardo IV

If you were a brave Stamford resident that ventured out on the cold afternoon of January 14″, 1914 for a copy of the Advocate your two cents would have bought a front page of report of the S.F.D.’s fire duty from the day before. In the center of the paper was a photo of the Stamford Yacht Club and its outbuildings taken from a yacht on the Long Island Sound. It was a photo of something that no longer existed.

It was an extremely cold night on January 13, 1914, with the temperature reading almost -10°, bitter gusts of wind that added to the misery of the men working at the Luther St. firehouse and any citizens that ventured outside. All people in Stamford had one thought stay warm, heaters and boilers were set as high as they could go. The men of Chemical Engine Co. #1 were already tired. It has been a long day, seven runs by Spm that night. Among the runs were one house fire caused by pipes being thawed in the basement, two grass/ brush fires, and a mutual aid call to Springdale for a house fire on Cemetery Rd.

Shortly after 9 pm a call for a reported fire was received for the Stamford Yacht Club located on Ocean Drive West. Chemical Engine Co. #1 was the only motorized unit in the Luther St. station, they were off and well on the way before the horse teams were hitched up. Capt. Smith and his men were the first to arrive and there was hope that they could put out this blaze with their 1″ chemical hose as they did at the earlier basement fire. The rest of the responding units were still several minutes away.

They parked on the south lawn close to the building. They were directed to the second floor by Mrs. Warren the Club cook who shouted that her room was on fire. AS they climbed the stairs, down came the other club employees in the building. The men had attempted to hold the fire with hand extinguishers. Capt. Smith was the first at the top of the stairs and saw the fire was now pushing out the door. The men under his command used their small line with great effect and pushed back the fire. Smith then passed the hose stream to check the room next door. He opened the door of the Ladies Bathroom and saw the fire had burned through the wall and was starting to eat its way into the attic.

He knew at once that the fire was now well beyond the capabilities of his company to control it. Soon the fire was now through the roof and he ordered his men to retreat. As they exited the building Chemical #1 saw how out of control the fire had become.

The fire was through the roof and the wind was carrying red hot embers into the trees and the yachts that had been pulled onto the south lawn for the winter. The area had become a landscape of flames; the building’s second-floor had become fully involved, the treetops were now giant torches, and the yachts were being consumed so fast that the chemical engine was close to igniting. The engineer of Chemical #1 scrambled through the blazing terrain and drove the machine out to the comparative safety of the street. By now the rest of the box alarm units had arrived and soon several streams of water were aimed against the trees and the building. Despite the cold, a crowd had gathered concerned that their residences might be next. It was not to be, it less than an hour the building had collapsed in on itself. It was a complete loss, all of the trophies and club memorabilia were gone as were the six boats on the south lawn. They comprised the majority of a very popular class of racing yachts built by Milton Point Shipyard in Rye, NY. The only structures left standing on the property were the bathhouses and pier. They were spared because their location was north and upwind of the main club building.

The fire was out by 10:30 pm that night and the freezing firefighters had packed up their hose and returned to quarters. Other than a small grass fire at ll pm the rest of the night was blessedly quiet. The S.F.D. was not called out until 8 am the next day when the fire rekindled in the remains of the Yacht Club. It was the start of another tough day as units later headed to a chimney fire and that afternoon to an attic fire on Garden St. The cause of the fire was blamed on an oil heater placed too close to furnishings in the corner of the cook’s room. The club was rebuilt by the summer of 1915 and still stands today on Ocean Drive West.

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Shippan Point Community Info

Shippan Point is the southernmost neighborhood in  Stamford ,  Connecticut ,  United States , located on a  peninsula  in  Long Island Sound . Street names such as Ocean Drive West and Lighthouse Way reflect the neighborhood’s shoreline location. It is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city, with about 1100 homes (including condominiums). [1]

Many of the community’s large homes overlook the water and have private beaches. Bordering Shippan Point to the northeast is the  Shippan  neighborhood of Stamford, and farther east the  East Side  neighborhood. To the west of Shippan Point, separated from it by a canal, is the  South End  neighborhood, which is currently in planning phases for a major redevelopment. Running down the middle of the peninsula, Shippan Avenue is the main road of the community. Several of the cross streets end in private beaches owned by neighborhood associations.

Some local historians say “Shippan” means “the shore where the sea begins.” but others say the meaning of the Indian name is lost.

Marion Castle

A waterfront mansion known as Marion Castle (One Rogers Road) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built, owned and occupied by the family of  Frank Marion  until his death in 1963. The house was designed by the noted New York City based firm of  Richard Howland Hunt and Joseph Howland Hunt , working as Hunt & Hunt. The Hunt brothers were sons of the “dean of american architecture”  Richard Morris Hunt . Marion’s Castle as it became known was designed in the style of a French chateau completed in either in 1914 (according to an October 2, 2005, New York Times article) or in 1916 (“completed in 1916,” according to a July 2006 article in New Canaan/Darien Magazine) Frank J. Marion was a movie industry pioneer who with partners in the Kalem Company produced silent  one-reelers  shown at nickelodeons. Since 1998 the pile has been owned and occupied by Thomas L. Rich, a Stamford real estate developer well known in the area. Mr. Rich has allowed the usage of the home extensively for non-profit community events.

The Hotel Chesterfield

The house at 1404 Shippan Avenue, built around 1880, was operated as a hotel and/or rooming house (under the names Chesterfield Inn, The Shippan Point Inn and Chesterfield House) for more than a century. It was extensively renovated in 2005-2007 by Shippan Point resident John Ruddy. Ruddy opened the business as The Hotel Chesterfield in 2007 as a 9-room boutique hotel. He sold the business to Stamford developer and Shippan Point resident Thomas L. Rich in June 2008. Rich ran the hotel for two years but after being unable to secure a license to serve liquor at the property, Rich closed the hotel and sold it. In 2010 the building was sold as a single-family home.

Organizations and businesses on Shippan Point

Shippan Point is home to two yacht clubs, two restaurants, a marina, a racquet club, and a private beach club. They are the  Stamford Yacht Club ; the  Halloween Yacht Club ; Brewer Yacht Haven East, a branch of the New England marina chain  Brewer Yacht Yards , the  Shippan Racquet club , and the Woodway Beach Club.

Community groups include the  Shippan Point Association , the Shippan Gourmet Club (which sponsors dinners at members’ homes six times a year) and the Shippan Point Garden Club.

Our Lady Star of the Sea Church  (Roman Catholic) is located on Shippan Avenue. The church was established August 21, 1964, and the current building opened January 15, 1989. It includes a parochial school.

Shippan Point has several restaurants: Brennan’s, on Iroquois Road, a bar and casual restaurant; Cafe Silvium at 371 Shippan Avenue, an award-winning Italian Restaurant; Tomato Tomato at 401 Shippan Avenue, a larger Italian restaurant; McGee’s Curbside at 72 McGee Avenue, for breakfast and lunch; and the Italian American Gourmet Deli at 203 Shippan Avenue.

“Shippan Shuffle”  It is common for residents to move from one home to another in the neighborhood. The practice has been called the “Shippan Shuffle.” “It’s not unusual for people to have lived in more than one house here,” a near-lifelong resident said. “In fact, there are probably 100 people here now who have done that.”

History  Up to the American Revolution Stamford, once known as Rippowam, was sold by the native Indians to the English settlers. One such deed of July 1, 1640, acknowledges the sale of land to Nathanael Turner of  Quenepiocke  in exchange for one dozen each of coats, hoes, hatchets, glasses, knives, two kettles and four “fathom of white wampum.” The deed bears the marks of Ponus  Sagamore  of Toquams, his son Owenoke Sagamore, as well as Wascussue Sagamore of Shippan.

For the next 50 years the English settlers tended to the corn fields, each being responsible for a five-rail fence. By the end of the 17th century, the land was divided into very precise quantities as determined by the landowners at their town meetings. Early settlers included the Ambers, Beldings, Hoyts, Jaggers, Pettits, Waterburys and Weeds.

Belding’s Bluff, at the southeastern tip of the peninsula, was once a farm of over 100 acres (0.40 km2). When Benjamin Belding died in 1741, his children sold off part of the farm to John Lloyd, a ship owner and operator of a general store at the mouth of the  Mill River . Lloyd’s father owned the section of Long Island known as  Lloyd’s Neck , which was occupied by the British during the American Revolution. On the night of September 5, 1779, Colonel  Benjamin Tallmadge  led a force of 130 men from Shippan Point to Lloyd’s Neck, where the surprised  Tories  surrendered. Several years later, Talmadge was told of a loyalist troop movement on eastern L.I. Talmadge wrote George Washington for permission to cut off the detachment. Once again Shippan was chosen as the site of embarkation, but two days of stormy winter weather thwarted the mission.

Nineteenth century After the Revolutionary War, several large farms of 100 acres (0.40 km2) or more flourished on Shippan. In 1799 Moses Rogers paid $8,000 for 102 acres (0.41 km2). In 1800 he purchased 74 acres (300,000 m2) additional for $2,791. In 1806 he purchased the Waterbury farm for $10,000 bringing his land holdings to over 400 acres (1.6 km2) and eventually owning the entire southern part of the point.

Rogers, a wealthy merchant, formed a partnership with William Walton Woolsey in 1792. Rogers was a director of the  First Bank of the United States  in 1793, governor of New York Hospital from 1792 to 1797, and a supporter of the New York Society for the Manumission of Slaves. In 1792, Moses Rogers married Sarah Woolsey, sister in law of one-time Yale College president  Timothy Dwight . In 1812, Rogers built a European styled mansion on the east side of Shippan Avenue, a few hundred feet from where Ocean Drive East is today. A description of the estate can be found in Timothy Dwight’s  Travels In New England And New York  (1822):

Timothy Dwight , president of  Yale College .

Another is a peninsula on the east side of the harbor, mentioned above under the name of Shippan, the property of Moses Rogers, Esq., of the city of New York. This also is an elegant and fertile piece of ground. The surface slopes in every direction, and is encircled by a collection of exquisite scenery. The Sound, and Long Island beyond it, with a gracefully indented shore, are directly in front, and both stretch westward to a vast distance and eastward till the eye is lost. On each side also lies a harbor bounded by handsome points. A train of groves and bushy island, peculiarly pleasing in themselves, increase by their interruptions the beauty of these waters. The farm itself is a delightful object, with its fields neatly enclosed, its orchards, and its groves. Here Mr. Rogers has formed an avenue, a mile in length, reaching quite to the waters edge. At the same time, he has united plantations of fruit trees, a rich garden, and other interesting objects, so combined as to make this one of the pleasantest retreats in the United States.

Rogers brought in Royal L. Gay from Stafford Springs, CT, to manage the estate. Gay was Stafford’s selectman and treasurer for years and was also representative to the State Legislature. When Moses Rogers died in 1825, he left his estate to two sons, a daughter, and several grandchildren, brothers and nephews, who administered the estate until the end of the century. The mansion house and surrounding buildings were leased to Isaac Bragg for $400 a year. Bragg was told to protect the garden and specimen plantings, especially in the area south of the house, known as “The Park.” Bragg ran a boarding school on the estate until it fell into disrepair. New tenant S.E. Lawrence restored the property which became a popular picnic area in the summer months, peaking on a day in 1845 with over 500 people.

After the last surviving child of Moses Rogers died in 1866, the first of many public auctions of Shippan land took place. Sally Scofield placed the highest bid of $980 for 10 acres (40,000 m2) in the middle of the peninsula. Hundreds of people attended the auctions, and in 1869,  Harpers Weekly  printed a few scenes of the area. A year later, the Rogers’ estate distributed a booklet describing the property. In the 1870s the estate was divided into 400 lots and new streets were made. Two of the streets were named after Rogers’ grandchildren: Van Rensselaer and Verplanck. It was not until 1913 that Rogers’ own name was used as a street name.

In 1885 several large plots of land on the southeastern shore were sold for about $2,000 each. That same year Colonel Woolsey Rogers Hopkins, son of Sarah Elizabeth Hopkins, and grandson of Moses Rogers, paid $8,000 for several land parcels south of the Ocean House hotel. In 1887, Colonel Hopkins built the large mansion at 192 Ocean Drive East. As first president of the Stamford Historical Society, he often entertained its members at his “Holiday House.” Early in the 20th century the house was sold to the Andrus family, who continued to own it until the end of the century.

Early Twentieth century postcard of Shippan Point

As part of the promotion of Shippan, a large hotel was built in 1870, called The Ocean House. It stood on Hobson Street, where the Woodway Beach Club is today. To encourage New York City residents to visit the area, a steamer, the  Shippan , was built in 1866. The  Panic of 1873  caused a collapse in the market, which did not recover until the 1880s. Another promotional scheme was the building of the Ocean House Hotel, where potential buyers could stay to get a feel for the area.

“SHIPPAN POINT HOTEL AND BATHING PAVILION Where the beach is of hard white sand.” From  The Guide to Nature  Magazine, June 1910 issue

Resort The late nineteenth century and early twentieth century were the heyday of Shippan as a summer resort, both for Stamford residents and others who owned or rented summer cottages or stayed at the Ocean House Hotel. “When Michael McDevitt bought it, he renamed it ‘Shippan House’.” By 1890, he had added a pavilion, bath houses, a casino, and a carousel from  Asbury Park, New Jersey . It was situated at the spot where later the Woodway Beach Club was built. The Hotel was renovated in 1911 by Leonard Barsaghi.”

The wreck of Ennis’ bathing pavilion, after an October 1916 storm.

In 1887 John Ennis bought land at the southwest end of the point and built a bathing pavilion over the water, where people could swim beneath a roof. He also put in ball fields, and a shed for 150 horses, which was too small to meet demand.

With Stamford Harbor on the west-side of the point, and Westcott Cove to the east, boats were plentiful in the summer months. The Rev.  Henry Codman Potter ‘s yacht  Pearl  was one of the more impressive sights at Stamford Harbor. A new steamer ship, The  Shippan , was built in 1866. Some of these vessels ferried passengers to the newly opened Shippan resorts of Ennis and McDeavitt. The racetrack at the northeast end of the peninsula brought even more visitors, so in 1892 the Stamford Street Railway began trolley service to Shippan.

The  Stamford Yacht Club  was formed in 1890, and the following year, William A. Lottimer was named its first Commodore. The 4 acres (16,000 m2) on the western shore were developed by N.W. Barrett of Bridgeport. The club boasted the pleasures of yachting, bathing, tennis, croquet, concerts and receptions. A fire destroyed the original clubhouse in 1913, but within a year a new structure had taken its place.

Early 20th century

In 1887, John Ennis bought land at the southwest end of the point and erected a bathing pavilion in the water. Waders could enjoy the refreshing salt water without the worry of sunburn. Some of the grounds were cleared for playing fields, and the shed for 150 horses soon became inadequate for the number of people coming there. Between 1891 and 1893 many meetings for of Stamford Common Council were held to discuss the sale of Ennis’ Park to the town. On Halloween night in 1906, Mayor Homer Cummings cast the deciding vote that turned the 95 acres (380,000 m2) of land into a public park. The park, originally called Halloween Park, was developed by civil engineer George Stadel. In 1916 a nine-hole golf course was built there, and later it was renamed Cummings Park.

In 1899 the Moses Rogers house was purchased by the Fosdick Syndicate, later called the Shippan Manor Company. L.D. Marriott opened the Manor School there. [7]  A three-story dormitory was added in 1902, which later became home to the Stamford Military Academy. Years later it became the Massee School. A new building was built on the west side of Shippan Avenue, and in 1911 it became the school of Miss Low and Miss Heywood. At about this time Leonard Barsaghi bought and renovated the Shippan House and the casino on the eastern shore.

Real estate continued to flourish, and James Jenkins of the Shippan Land Company developed over 100 acres (0.40 km2) of Shippan property. They brought in landfill, and in 1913 opened the new roads of Saddle Rock and Rogers. One year later, Frank J. Marion, a producer of the early “one-reeler” silent films, had a castle built at 1 Rogers Road. Marion Castle was designed by the architectural firm Hunt and Hunt of New York City. When Frank Marion died in 1963, at 96, the property was sold to Martha and David Cogan. Martha was renowned for saving many children from Hitler, and David was an inventor and leader in the development of radio and television, helping to develop the first color television tube for CBS. In 1978, Jay Kobrin and Gordon Micunis of Gordon Micunis Designs purchased Marion Castle. They were influential in placing it on the National Register of Historic Places.

The neighborhood continued to be developed in the early twentieth century. The Shippan Land Company developed over 100 acres (0.40 km2) of the peninsula, including Saddle Rock and Rogers Roads in 1913. The Atlantic Realty Company held a large  public auction  of land in 1914 at Lanark, Auldwood, Downs, and Whittaker avenues. The company even offered three-minute airplane rides to attract prospective buyers.

Shippan residents complained about city services (it wasn’t until 1931 that Shippan Avenue was paved) and zoning decisions, and the area once petitioned the state legislature to separate from Stamford and become its own town, although the petition was rejected.

From  The Guide to Nature  Magazine, June 1910 issue. Caption reads: COTTAGES ON THE EXTREME END OF SHIPPAN POINT The large house in the centre is the home of Robert H. Fosdick.” Off-shore wreck The  Isabel,  a wooden passenger steamship, ran aground off the point on 28 September 1915. There were no fatalities. Scattered wreckage remains in the 20-foot (6.1 m)-deep area. There are believed to be small parts of the ship, like windows, buried only a few feet below the sand at the beach at Stamford Yacht Club. ]

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1925 and Early Years

The Shippan Point Garden Club was officially established in October, 1925.

In its early years, the Club held regular meetings, often in members’ gardens or homes, to create an opportunity to learn about gardening from one another and to exhibit horticultural samples and flower arrangements.

In May of 1926 the Club organized a Plant Exchange for members that evolved into the annual May Market plant sale that is open to the public, usually scheduled for the day before Mother’s Day.

1950 - 1975

Educational Flower Shows were held to celebrate both the Twenty-Fifth and Fiftieth Anniversaries of the Club.

1975 - 2000

Since 1995 The Shippan Point Garden Club has been awarding scholarships to graduating Stamford resident high school seniors who plan to attend college for the study of biology, environmental sciences and related subjects.

2000 and now

The year 2000 marked the Garden Club’s Seventy-Fifth Anniversary. The Shippan Point Community Welcome Garden and its welcoming sign at the entrance to Shippan Point were a gift from the Garden Club to the community in celebration of this anniversary.

In addition to the Welcome Garden, the gardens planted and maintained by the club include:

• Gateway Garden opposite the Welcome Garden
• Traffic circle garden at Fairview Avenue
• Triangle garden near the Marion Castle
• Entrance gardens at Katrina Mygatt Recycling Center
• Allee of cherry trees and nooks along Magee Avenue

The club is continually committed to tree planting on Shippan, including replacement of trees on Shippan Avenue, cherry trees on Fairview Avenue and the cherry trees along Magee Avenue at the entrance to Shippan Point.

The Shippan Point Garden Club (SPGC) is a 501(c)(3) organization.

The SPGC is a member of the following organizations:

The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Inc. (FGCCT)

New England Region (NER)

National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC) )

2299 Summer Street #1135 Stamford, CT 06905

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2299 Summer Street #1135 Stamford, Ct 06905