North Stonington
Bicentennial Letterboxing
Letterboxing is like a treasure hunt. It’s a great family activity. We’ve hidden these letterboxes in some of the most interesting places in our village. Follow the clues and see if you can find them. Bring along a small notepad, a pen or pencil, and an ink stamp or stickers. When you find each letterbox, open it carefully and take out the notepad and ink stamp inside. Stamp your notepad with the ink stamp from the letterbox—as proof that you found it. Then stamp the letterbox notepad with your ink stamp or put a sticker in it—as proof that you’ve been there.
When you’re done, put back the letterbox notepad and ink stamp and hide the letterbox in the same place for the next person to find. For more information and sites, visit www.letterboxing.org. Connecticut has more letterboxes than any other state.
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.
