Pro
Small town, patriotic, historical, RIVER, water is so close
Con
might be too calm if you are a big city person
In a nutshell
A great small town for a day trip
I stayed at the Griswold Inn on a Monday night if I remember correctly. Attached to the Inn is the Tap Room, a bar that was used in the colonial days and is available to still have a drink in these days. Even on Monday night they had live music from about 7-8pm until around 11pm. The bar isn't a huge place so there are people that spill outside at busy times. But everyone seemed to be having a good time.
*I checked the website and they claim to have live music/entertainment on every night of the week!
Dress Code: There was no dress code here.
Updated Apr 4, 2011
Address: 36 Main Street Ave
Phone: 860.767.1776
If you are planning to visit Essex for a day trip, I suggest that you take you car and park it on or around Main St. and walk around. You can walk to the Town Green, the Connecticut River Museum and various shops and restaurants. It's lots of fun.
Written Jul 25, 2006
So while I was on the riverboat cruise with the Essex Steam Train trip they showed us this structure while we were on the Connecticut River. The building was very interesting from a distance. I got a shot, then contacted the Steam Train company to get the name of it.
"Mount Saint John (MSJ) is a residential treatment program that provides comprehensive and integrated treatment services to adolescent boys and young men who are not able to function in their home community due to combinations of behavioral, emotional, family and educational problems. The staff and Board of Mount Saint John are committed to providing a treatment program to meet the evolving and changing needs of the times and of the boys who come into our care." -From their website
Mount St. Johns was a school for boys after being built in the early 1900s. Rather than paraphrase I included some historical information from their website.
"Mount Saint John was founded as St. John's Industrial School in 1904 in Hartford. The Hartford property soon became too small to meet the needs of the growing residential school for boys in need of care. In 1907 the foundation stone for a new building was blessed and laid on the present site in Deep River by the Bishop of Hartford, and staff and residents moved in during the following year. A prominent local family the Duggans of Deep River - had donated the property on which the residential school was built. A son of that family— a priest, Monsignor Thomas Duggan was a longtime friend and benefactor of this institution, as the plaque in the entrance foyer attests."
Then basically it became an orphanage for boys. Soon after that it began specializing the treatment for boys both with mental struggles and behavorial. It still functions today and is a lovely sight from the Steamboat ride of the Essex Steam Train attraction.
Boys Served:
Capacity: 40 boys
Ages at Admission: 11-15.6 years
Average Age: 14 years 8 months
Average Stay: 9-12 months
Reasons Boys Come to Mount Saint John:
Learning & behavioral problems
Emotional difficulties
Family problems
Alcohol and other drug abuse & addiction
Neglect & dependency issues
Probation and parole requirements
Updated Apr 4, 2011
Phone: 860.343.1300
Favorite thing: While strolling Main Street I ran across this plaque giving the historical accounts of the shipping industry that was the backbone of Essex. Seems there was a bit of a skuttle during the War of 1812. I love thinking of the history of a certain place, and Essex is sure busy with displaying those accounts.
Written Jul 1, 2010
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