Town Green: Charter Oak Letterbox

“Happy Birthday, North Stonington! Happy Birthday, America!”

Walk to the spot where you would say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Now listen for the sound of water. Face in that direction.
Walk to the place where people can sit and listen to the brook. You’ll see a stone monument here. It was made to celebrate the United States’ 200th birthday, or bicentennial, in 1976. Read what the monument says about our town and our country. Rest for a minute and enjoy the wonderful sounds and scenery.
Now peek across the brook to the back of the green. Look for the “lonely” tree.
Walk across the bridge and rest for awhile in the shade of the tree. This oak tree was a birthday present for America. It was planted as a tiny seedling during America’s 1976 bicentennial celebration. The seedling came from Connecticut’s original Charter Oak Tree in Hartford. The Charter Oak is famous because when the King of England tried to take away Connecticut’s charter and make Connecticut part of Massachusetts and New York, the colonists hid the charter in the tree.
Ready for your next clue? Stand right between the 2 benches and face the oak tree.
Walk straight for about 20-25 steps toward the stream until you find red bricks.
Look for a big clump of green ferns right in front of you, near a huge tree on the side of the stream. (You should be able to see the bicentennial monument across the stream, too.)
Peek behind the ferns and reach under the edge of a big rock to find the Charter Oak letterbox. Congratulations!

Wheeler Cemetery Letterbox

This cemetery is named for one of North Stonington’s historic families, and it is the final resting place for many of the citizens who called North Stonington home over the last 200 years. Please be respectful while you stroll through the cemetery.

Enter the cemetery through the old iron gates.
Find the graves of Major Dudley R. Wheeler and his family. Hint: The family’s monument is the tallest in the entire cemetery. The Wheelers gave $4,000 to the Congregational Church to maintain the cemetery. They founded the Wheeler School and Library, which still serves as the town’s public library. They also donated land for our town’s schools. This cemetery, Wheeler High School, and Wheeler Library are named after them.
Walk around the tall monument and read the names of Major Wheeler’s children. Find the name of his son who was born in 1829 and died in 1906.
Now look a few feet to the left for the small stone that marks the son’s grave. Hint: It has his initials—H.D.W.
Next, turn to face away from the road and look for steps leading downhill towards the woods.
Walk towards the steps, but stop first at the gravestone made out of a boulder and covered in green lichen.
Read the name on the boulder gravestone. Write it down or remember it—you’ll need it later to find the letterbox.
Now walk down the stairs to the rock wall at the edge of the woods. Follow the wall to the right, all the way to the far back section of the cemetery.
Stop at the far back end and read some of the gravestones on the mound there. For example, you’ll see a stone belonging to Mr. Burdick, who fought in World War I.
Keep following the wall past a gate that leads into the woods.
Just after you walk past that gate, look for the very tall grave marker straight ahead. Walk over to it.
Now explore this side of the cemetery. Just keep heading towards the road. You’ll notice lots of small American flags. These flags mark the graves of the North Stonington veterans who fought for our country.
Continue exploring until you get to the wall along Main Street. You will see four large gravestones facing the street. One of the stones, closest to the entrance gate, marks another Wheeler grave. Read the names on the other stones as you walk along the wall, toward the corner of the cemetery. Hint: One is the name of a color, one is the name of a state, and the one in the corner is the same name as the name you saw on the boulder earlier.
When you get to this last stone, turn around and face the wall along Main Street. Look in the gaps in the wall until you find the Cemetery Letterbox.

Continue on Column 2 >>

Wheeler Lions Math & Sports Challenge Letterbox

Start looking for this letterbox from the front steps of the Wheeler Library. The students of North Stonington used to go to high school at the library. Then the Wheeler family donated land for the current high school and middle school. These grounds were once part of the Elias Hewitt farm and the old Grange fairgrounds. Leo the Lion is the Wheeler High School mascot.

From the library steps, look over the shoulder of one of the lions and across the high school lawn. Spot the three giant trees that guard the top of the hill by the school.
Charge across the lawn and up the hill. Once you get past the mighty trees, look for the giant lion paw prints.
Find the door that the lion came out of.
Follow the tracks and count the paw prints. Write down the number or remember it—you’ll need it later to find the letterbox.
At the end of the lion’s trail, look to your left until you see a giant red bell.
Walk over to the bell and find the number engraved on it.
Time for some math! Add the number on the bell to the number of lion paw prints. Write down the new number or remember it!
Now walk along the front of the school, away from the bell and the lion’s trail. Look for the year in which the school was built. Hint: It’s carved into a brick along the bottom of the school’s wall.
Add the year to the number from Step 7. Write down the new number or remember it!
Walk through the parking lot to the basketball court in the big field. This field was part of the old fairgrounds. The North Stonington Grange held its first Grange fair here in 1910.
How many points would you score if you made a slam-dunk in a basketball game? Add that number to the number from Step 9. Write down the new number or remember it!
Walk through the field and find the place where you would play baseball or softball.
How many runs does a baseball team score when a batter hits a grand slam? Add that number to the number from Step 11. Write down the new number or remember it! (Go ahead and take a homerun trot around the bases if you want.)
Stand on the base where a batter would stand after hitting a single.
Turn to face the stone wall and busy Route 2.
One last math problem! Take your big number from Step 13. Pretend it is a year. Pretend you were born in that year. How old would you be now?
Walk that many steps straight towards the stone wall.
Look under the rocks near the big trees to find the Wheeler Lions Math & Sports Challenge letterbox.

The “Library Mouse” Letterbox

Built in 1889, Wheeler Library is one of our town’s most treasured buildings. It served as North Stonington’s high school until the Wheeler family donated the land (in 1956) for the current Wheeler High and Middle Schools.

The library mouse was last seen scurrying upstairs. Follow him! Use the clues to find his hiding place.
Look for the glass showcase with an old American flag in it. This flag was carried by soldiers from North Stonington as they left to fight in the Civil War. These brave men enlisted in 1862 in Company G, 21st Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers.
Read the names of the some of the soldiers on the list. Find the name of the soldier between “Coon” and “Corey.”
What was that soldier’s middle initial?
Now find the section of books with authors whose last names start with that letter. Find the very first book listed under that letter. (Hint: It’s on the top shelf, so you might need someone tall to help you find it.) Stand right there.
Count the rows of shelves from top to bottom.
Now take that many steps to your left to where the schoolteacher once worked.
Look inside where you think the mouse might be hiding until you find his letterbox.