The Sunday, June 13, edition of The Day carried a front-page story about The Standard, the big new building in Mystic. The developers shared with Ann Baldelli, who reported the story, an historic postcard they found of the Wadawanuck Hotel in Stonington. They explained its architecture influenced the design of The Standard. They also said, and The Day reported, that the Wadawanuck was never built. We have since learned that was wrong. It was built, though not as depicted, and enjoyed a brief but interesting history. And while it is gone, the hotel’s bones may well live on in the Borough of Stonington. What follows is its story.

Our organization read with great interest the June 13 story, "Setting the Standard in Mystic." This project is deserving of attention and here at the Stonington Historical Society, we pay special notice to projects inspired by Stonington's past.

We would like, however, to correct a statement made in the article regarding the actual construction of the Wadawanuck Hotel. Although there is little left in the cultural landscape that hints at its existence beyond the name of the square, the hotel was indeed built and occupied — over several decades — what we know as Wadawanuck Square. The depiction of the hotel on the postcard featured in the article was a significantly embellished version used for advertising and may have exaggerated many of the actual hotel features.

The hotel was originally built by the Stonington Railroad in 1837 to accommodate passengers traveling between New York, Providence, and points north. Construction was begun on the Stonington route from Providence in 1832 and the entire route was completed in 1837. The New York, Providence, and Boston Railroad began operations in 1837. Steamships brought passengers as far as Stonington from New York and they traveled to points north via train.

With arrivals and departures occurring only twice a day, chances were good that passengers would need to spend the night at the Wadawanuck Hotel before proceeding onto the next leg of their journeys. Stonington's prime spot as the nexus of travel was soon bypassed by the steamship and railroad lines, leaving the hotel bereft of guests. A guest register of the Wadawanuck Hotel is held by the Society and a facsimile is available to researchers at the R.W. Woolworth Library & Research Center.

The hotel was purchased in 1857 by the Rev. Harvey A. Sackett (1806-1879) and his wife, Diantha Gray Sackett, and operated as the Wadawanuck Young Ladies Institute. The Sacketts had recently been dismissed from Elmira College (recognized by many as one of the first collegiate educational institutions available to women).

In Stonington, their female students studied arithmetic, physiology, algebra, and botany, plus the practical study of book-keeping. Home arts were also included, but were not to occupy more than 30 minutes a day.

In 1863, the Wadawanuck resumed operations as a hotel under a new owner, Ira Hart Palmer. At the end of the 1885 season, the hotel ceased operations for good. It was dismantled in 1891 by Frank Sylvia and it is alleged that several homes in Stonington Borough were constructed from the salvaged lumber.

On Sept. 15, 1898, Samuel Denison Babcock deeded the property to the Borough of Stonington. He was a prominent director of many businesses, particularly insurance, real estate, and railroad companies. Babcock was president of New York, Providence, and Boston Railroad, vice president of the Providence and Stonington Steamship Company, president of the International Bell Telephone Company, and also president of the City and Suburban Homes Association in New York City. Babcock served as president of the New York Chamber of Commerce from 1875 to 1882.

A provision in the deed stipulated that a building be erected on the property to be used as a public library and reading room and that one room be reserved for use by the Stonington Historical and Genealogical Society.

Babcock died at the age of 80 in 1902 in Massachusetts. His portrait is owned by the Stonington Historical Society. It hangs in the Stonington Free Library.

Elizabeth A. Wood is the executive director of the Stonington Historical Society.