Roton Point – Postcard History
From the 1870's through 1941, Roton Point was one of the preeminent attractions along the shores of Long Island Sound. From its shady picnic groveoverlooking the water to its sandy beaches, hotel, dance floor, carousel, roller coaster and midway rides, Roton Point attracted thousands of visitors each season. Damage from the 1938 hurricaine and the start of World War II led From the 1870's through 1941, Roton Point was one of the preeminent attractions along the shores of Long Island Sound. From its shady picnic groveoverlooking the water to its sandy beaches, hotel, dance floor, carousel, roller coaster and midway rides, Roton Point attracted thousands of visitors each season. Damage from the 1938 hurricaine and the start of World War II led to the park's closing in 1941, and Roton Point was divided into two private beach clubs and a public beach. Some of the old buildings remain, including the bathhouse, hotel, and gazebo at Roton Point, and the roller-coaster entry at Bayley Beach. The Roton Point History COmmittee is a dedicated group of members (chair Lisa Wilson Grant, Cam Hutchins, Mary Ellen Pastore, and Pat Atkin) of the Roton Point Club and is charged with bridging the past and the present by collecting, preserving, and sharing artifacts and memories of Roton Point.
About Lisa Wilson Grant (Fairfield County, Connecticut Author)
Lisa Wilson Grant is a lifelong Norwalk, Connecticut resident who enjoys art and history, and especially the combination of the two. Grant is a Commissioner in the Norwalk Historical Commission, Board Member/Trustee of Rowayton Historical Society, and Chair of the Roton Point History Committee, an exhibiting member of the Rowayton Arts Center and Chapter Regent of the Norwalk-Village Green Chapter NSDAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). Lisa Wilson Grant is the author of several local history books, “Images of America: Norwalk” which features vintage photographs and historical information about Norwalk, and a co-author of “Roton Point”- a Postcard History book of the former amusement park which was in Norwalk from the 1880s until 1941. Together with her husband Jordan, she draws landscape designs for Minuteman Land Services, Inc. She is an avid quilter, a photographer, member of Rowayton Gardeners and mother of two adult children, stepmother of one and grandmother of two boys.
