Aerial.America.S01E04.Connecticut
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00:00Nestled above Long Island Sound, Connecticut is a land of scenic coastline and pristine
00:09waterways.
00:13It's been an important center of commerce since colonial times, and the home of historic
00:21events and people that have helped shape the nation.
00:28From the house where Huckleberry Finn was born, to the factory that created the Colt
00:33Revolver and the M-16 Assault Rifle, and the estate where one of Hollywood's greatest
00:40female stars escaped the limelight, history has been made on these shores again and again.
00:47This is also a place brimming with myth and legend, from stories about a deadly dog, to
00:54tales of a haunted lighthouse, and to a sleeping giant who may never spill his secrets.
01:05Ariel, Connecticut is a journey across a land shaped by innovation and ingenuity, a place
01:13where old traditions and new innovations have come together to create a state rich in wealth,
01:21institutions, and ideas.
01:51It's a land where you're never far from water or dense forest, with a long coastline
02:10sheltered by Long Island to the south.
02:19The native people called it Long River Place, or Connecticut.
02:30The first European settlers discovered, along the calm waters of Long Island Sound, abundant
02:35natural harbors.
02:41Prosperity was guaranteed, at least for the Europeans.
02:50For the native Mohegan Indians, the story is a little different.
02:55It starts in tragedy, but ends in a kind of triumph.
02:59In the 17th century, white English and Dutch settlers bought up the Mohegans' land and
03:04forced them out, leading to a long decline.
03:10The Mohegans were also devastated by imported European diseases.
03:15By the American Revolution, their population had dwindled from thousands to just 70 people.
03:25This glittering building marks a revival of the Mohegan tribe's fortunes, thanks to proceeds
03:32from the Mohegan Sun Casino and Hotel in Uncasville.
03:36With 300,000 square feet of gambling space, everything in the design is infused with meaning
03:43to the tribe.
03:50The centerpiece is the iconic 1,200-room hotel.
03:55Its crystal facade and shape are designed to resemble the court site once used by Mohegans
04:00to make arrowheads.
04:06Embracing modern commerce has allowed the Mohegans to honor their dead fittingly.
04:12A few miles up the road, in Norwich, a permanent memorial of 13 pillars stands proud on the
04:19site of a Mohegan burial ground.
04:22Each pillar represents the 13 moons of the Mohegan calendar.
04:29The tribe's most famous leader, Chief Uncas, is believed to be buried somewhere in this
04:34three-and-a-half acre park.
04:39The tribe fought for years to regain their former burial ground, but it wasn't until
04:451999 that the Mohegans finally reclaimed the land, buying it from the city of Norwich.
05:00Connecticut is justly proud of its schools.
05:04Here in Canterbury, in the northeastern corner of the state, was the site of New England's
05:09first school for African American girls.
05:14When Prudence Crandall founded it in 1832, the school was unpopular with locals, and
05:20she faced humiliation, arrest, and a trial that brought her to the state Supreme Court.
05:27Her defiance paved the way for others to follow, and in her honor, her former school and home
05:34is now called the Prudence Crandall Museum.
05:43Jutting out precariously at the mouth of New Haven Harbor stands another testament to Connecticut
05:48bravery.
05:53At this fort, reconstructed from the original, 19 American soldiers held out against the
05:58British during the Revolutionary War.
06:07In July 1779, hundreds of Redcoats landed nearby and attacked the fort from behind.
06:16In spite of overwhelming odds, the plucky soldiers defended the harbor until they ran
06:21out of ammunition and made a run for it.
06:28A little further east along the shoreline, two permanent sentinels stand watch over New
06:33London Harbor.
06:35Eighty-nine feet high and built in 1801, New London Lighthouse is the oldest in the state
06:43and the fourth oldest in North America.
06:47It cost a staggering sum of $15,000, but for local sailors, it was money well spent.
06:55One wrote in the 19th century, it is of great importance as a leading light for vessels
07:02going in and out of the harbor of New London, which on account of its position and security
07:07is much resorted to during the heavy gales of winter.
07:18A short distance away, in the mouth of the harbor, sits the New London Ledge Lighthouse.
07:27This striking structure was built in 1909 and designed to look just like the homes of
07:32the wealthy residents along the coast.
07:37The lighthouse is said to be haunted by the ghost of a former keeper.
07:43According to legend, when the keeper's wife ran off, he jumped off the lighthouse and
07:48drowned in the cold waters of Long Island Sound.
07:52Reports of mysterious occurrences at the lighthouse have emerged ever since.
08:00The city of New Haven is a beacon for the nation's learning and a showcase for town
08:05planning.
08:06At its center is the 16-acre green, with its neat paths radiating out to the historic downtown.
08:14Founded in 1638, New Haven was the first town in the U.S. to use a grid system.
08:22Many American cities, if not all, have since adopted the same planned design.
08:28But it's also a place famous for its natural beauty, earning the nickname the Elm City.
08:36It's lined with many massive elms, the remnants of America's first public tree-planting program.
08:45Taking pride of place in this city of trees is Connecticut's most famous institution,
08:51Yale University.
08:55The school was founded in nearby Saybrook and moved to New Haven in 1716 after a protracted
09:02debate.
09:04First called the Collegiate School, Yale was started in 1701 by a group of ten ministers.
09:10The men, all alumni of Harvard, had pooled their books to form the school's first library.
09:19By 1718, the college's name was changed in honor of the main benefactor, L.A.Q. Yale.
09:27The university's most prominent landmark, Harkness Tower, stands 216 feet tall,
09:34and its 44 carillon bells ring out every hour.
09:46Yale is the third oldest university in America and is considered one of the most prestigious,
09:52with good reason.
09:55Since the 1970s, four of its alumni have gone on to become President of the United States.
10:05Running north from Yale is an even older landmark.
10:09This area is known as the Land of the Sleeping Giant.
10:14From a distance, you can see a long two-mile hill that looks like a giant's resting body.
10:22Native Americans call this giant Hubba Mach, who was put to sleep by a good spirit
10:28to stop his destructive urges.
10:31The giant's rest has not always been peaceful.
10:35He was disturbed by vandals in the early 20th century.
10:39And then Judge Willis Cook, whose property included the giant's head,
10:43allowed stone quarrying on the land.
10:46The public outcry soon put an end to the blasting
10:50and led to the creation of Sleeping Giant State Park in 1924.
10:55The giant has slept soundly ever since,
10:59despite this observation tower being built on his thickly wooded belly.
11:09Also in Hampton is an important epicenter of innovation.
11:14It was here that inventor Eli Whitney made a key contribution to America's Industrial Revolution.
11:21After patent violations kept him from reaping profits from his invention of the cotton gin,
11:26in 1798 he signed a government contract to mass-produce 10,000 guns.
11:33Whitney harnessed natural power for his factory from the flow of the Mill River
11:38and broke new ground by making the weapons with interchangeable parts.
11:43Another innovation was creating the pieces by machine instead of by hand.
11:50The innovations developed here would ultimately help the industrialized North defeat the South in the Civil War.
12:04Connecticut is a land of towers with incredible views.
12:10Castle Craig is perched on an inland cliff edge in an area known as the Hanging Hills.
12:18The view is commanding, offering the highest vantage point anywhere along the eastern seaboard.
12:28The castle was built by a local manufacturer a century ago.
12:32Although the origin of its design is unclear,
12:35some say it was inspired by an 11th century French tower, others by a 12th century Turkish tower.
12:45Looking out, you may catch a glimpse of the infamous Black Dog of the Hanging Hills.
12:52The first sighting of this legendary hound, who leaves no footprints and makes no sound, is said to bring joy.
13:00But the second sighting supposedly leads to misfortune, and the third is considered an omen of death.
13:13Connecticut is a state shaped by its access to the oceans, through its rivers and coastline,
13:20and its waterways served as major highways for transporting goods in early America.
13:26Protected by Long Island Sound, maritime trades thrived.
13:32The majestic Connecticut River connected this bustling coastline to the state's inner regions.
13:43The state capital of Hartford was settled on the banks of the river in 1623 by Dutch traders.
13:50What started as a fort known as the House of Hope soon became a prosperous outpost.
13:57One of the town's great success stories continues to this day.
14:01Merchants needed insurance to protect their ships and cargo, and Hartford gladly obliged.
14:07With its modern skyline of office blocks, it's become known as the insurance capital of America.
14:13The Traveler's Tower is home to one such insurance company, and remains the city's most distinctive landmark.
14:21Amazingly, this impressive structure was once the seventh highest building in the world.
14:28Today, it's not even the tallest in its own city.
14:34Hartford has a long history as a center of democracy.
14:38Hartford has a long history as a center of democracy.
14:42The first written constitution guaranteeing representative government was signed in Connecticut in 1639.
14:49As a result, the state earned its nickname, the Constitution State.
14:54Over 150 years later, Connecticut built its first statehouse.
14:59It's the oldest in the nation, and served as the official state capital building until 1878.
15:07Its architect, Charles Bullfinch, went on to help create the capitol building in Washington, D.C.
15:14Today, it's affectionately referred to as the Old Statehouse, and remains one of Hartford's architectural treasures.
15:24With Bushnell Park rolling out before it, the new state capitol is a grander affair.
15:30Costing a staggering $2.5 million at the time, or $53.5 million in today's money,
15:38it's regarded as a perfect example of high Victorian Gothic architecture.
15:44Opening for state business in 1879, it's been serving the citizens of Connecticut ever since.
15:51Perhaps America's greatest literary figure built his dream home here in Hartford.
15:59Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, enlisted an English architect to create this dramatic house.
16:06And despite his three young daughters running amok, he found time to write
16:11The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
16:16The house is now abutted by a museum dedicated to the highs and lows of Twain's life.
16:22Although Twain's literary success made him wealthy, bad investments saddled him with debt.
16:30He left his Hartford home for good in 1891.
16:36He wrote of his beloved city that, of all the places in the world,
16:42He wrote of his beloved city that, of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see,
16:54Away from the peaceful residential areas lies the most famous gun factory in the world.
17:05Learning industrial-scale manufacturing from Eli Whitney,
17:08Samuel Colt built his own gun empire here in an area of Hartford later named Coltsville.
17:17His distinctive domed armory is the centerpiece of a factory that made the first revolvers and the M16 assault rifle.
17:27The firearms made in Hartford have played a vital role in U.S. history for over 150 years.
17:39Colt used his vast fortune to build a nearby mansion, Armsmere, considered the greatest Hartford residence of its day.
17:51He constructed the palatial Italian-style villa as a home for his new wife, Elizabeth Jarvis.
17:58After Colt's death in 1862, Elizabeth was one of the richest women in the world.
18:05She used her fortune to become a dedicated patron of the arts,
18:09collecting and donating many great works over the next four decades.
18:14The historic houses of Wethersfield are more modest, but no less important in the state's history.
18:22Ranging in age from early to mid-18th century, they typify early settler architecture.
18:29Simple, simple, simple, simple.
18:34Ranging in age from early to mid-18th century, they typify early settler architecture.
18:42Simple, efficient clapboard designs.
18:53Here at Joseph Webb House in 1781, General George Washington convened a five-day military conference
19:00that would ultimately seal America's independence.
19:05At the Battle of Yorktown later in the year, the young nation finally defeated the British.
19:13The military conference here at Wethersfield was clearly time well spent.
19:24A short way down the Connecticut River floats a unique moving landmark.
19:31For this man and his car, the $3 toll to cross the Connecticut River is both time-saving and historic.
19:42The Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry has been in business since 1655,
19:48making it the nation's oldest continually operating ferry.
19:53Back then, the ferryman used poles to push his boat across the thousand-foot stretch of water.
20:00Later on, a horse walking a treadmill did the hard work, and later still came the advent of steam.
20:07Today, diesel power has replaced centuries of toil.
20:14Crossing the river here shaves eight miles off his journey and allows time to savor the view.
20:21Connecticut may be known for its industry and innovation,
20:25but some days in this state shouldn't be allowed to go by without pausing for a rest.
20:32That rest could come from the shade of one of the state's many trees, or perhaps one in particular.
20:39The Pinchot Sycamore, the largest in New England, is named after Gifford Pinchot.
20:45The father of American conservation, its canopy stretches 140 feet,
20:49half a football field, and it's at least two centuries old.
20:57A small town with a big reputation, Litchfield, in the northwest of the state, is home to another important first.
21:06A judge named Tapping Reeve devised a series of lectures on law
21:11and established, in 1784, the first law school in the country.
21:16Many of the nation's most prominent politicians studied here,
21:20including Thomas Jefferson's vice president Aaron Burr, 28 senators, and three Supreme Court justices.
21:28It closed in 1833.
21:31Further east, another Connecticut tower played a part in U.S. presidential history.
21:37Rising from a natural wonder known as Talcott Mountain,
21:42the 165-foot-tall Hubline Tower was built as a summer home by a German-American businessman
21:50who modeled it after castles in his homeland.
21:55Its owner's heritage caused problems at the beginning of World War I
22:00when rumors flew that the tower was being used to send messages to German ships.
22:06To halt this speculation, Hubline offered the federal government use of the property.
22:11They declined, but the rumors quickly died down.
22:20In 1952, a group of prominent citizens gathered here to pressure a renowned general into running for president.
22:29Dwight D. Eisenhower accepted and was sworn into office the following year.
22:36Today, over 100,000 people a year visit the tower.
22:42Connecticut's small creeks and streams were once dotted with covered bridges,
22:48but today, the West Cornwall Bridge is one of only three original structures that remain.
22:56Built in 1864, it was designed by Ithiel Town,
23:01one of America's first architects and another Connecticut native.
23:05His design, criss-crossing pieces of wood that form a lattice, allowed the bridge to hold more weight.
23:12Even so, the bridge has received little help over the years.
23:17A hidden steel deck was added beneath it in 1973.
23:27A break in the construction of the bridge was a major challenge.
23:32A break in the forest reveals harvest time for a traditional New England crop.
23:38Pumpkins have been grown for food by humans for generations,
23:43but these look set for jack-o'-lanterns.
23:48There are many varieties, but the Connecticut field pumpkin is the most popular type for Halloween,
23:55thanks to its picture-book color and size.
24:02In a land rich in ghost stories, perhaps the most chilling concerns a lost Connecticut village,
24:09Dudleytown, also known as the Village of the Damned.
24:15Hidden in this forest, just south of Coltsfoot Mountain, are ruins not marked on most maps.
24:22Legend has it that a curse followed the Dudley family from England
24:26after one of their number was beheaded for plotting against King Henry VIII.
24:32Widespread suicides, mysterious disappearances, and general mayhem followed the family to the town they settled in Connecticut.
24:42By the early 1900s, it had been abandoned to the forest.
24:48The current owners of the property have designated it a nature reserve and tried to ward people off.
24:54But some still find their way here in search of old legends and ghosts.
25:07Here at Lime Rock Park, a Hollywood star satisfied his passion for driving.
25:14Too small to be a major track, its beautiful location and history places it firmly in the hearts of racing fans.
25:21Including the late Paul Newman.
25:27He cut his teeth at Lime Rock, learning the skills that would take him to second place in the Le Mans Endurance Race.
25:36Opened in 1957 by Jim Vale, there can be no racing on this track on Sundays because it's across the street from a church.
25:44But it keeps busy, even though this means it can only hold a few big weekend events a year.
25:51Newman was the most famous resident of the coastal town of Westport until his passing in 2008.
25:58But his legacy lives on.
26:02His habit of making salad dressing for friends and family sparked an idea.
26:07The Newman's Own brand was founded in 1982.
26:11So far, over $250 million has been given to charity from the sale of dressings, sauces, and lemonade.
26:21Such selflessness would not be lost on the nuns of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem.
26:31When a Connecticut industrialist donated some land to a French and an American businessman,
26:37When a Connecticut industrialist donated some land to a French and an American nun,
26:42they fashioned their abbey's main structure from an old factory building.
26:52The abbey has since expanded, in size and in people.
26:58One of the abbey's most famous residents is Dolores Hart, a movie actress turned Catholic nun.
27:06By the age of 25, Hart had delivered Elvis Presley's first on-screen kiss and was on her way to stardom.
27:14Then, in 1963, Hart left Hollywood to become a Benedictine nun within the peaceful confines of the abbey.
27:23While the glamour may be a distant memory, her need to perform isn't.
27:29The abbey's choir has released several CDs of Gregorian chants,
27:33and its programs include summer theater workshops.
27:37A world away, but in the same state, the neat banks of submarines at Groton signal a deadly intent.
27:47As a gateway to the Atlantic, Connecticut plays a vital part in the nation's defense.
27:53On the banks of the Thames River, Groton is home port to 16 attack submarines and an impressive naval museum.
28:04The USS Nautilus is more than an exhibit. It was the first nuclear submarine in the world.
28:12With its keel laid by President Truman in 1954, this groundbreaking vessel embarked on a career of many firsts,
28:20including the first crossing of the North Pole by ship.
28:25The ship was finally decommissioned in 1980 and brought here in 1986.
28:34While submarines operate miles out at sea, the Thames River played its own part in the history of U.S. warfare.
28:42At the Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781,
28:47Fort Griswold was attacked by a British force led by America's most infamous traitor, Connecticut native Benedict Arnold.
28:57The marks of the original fort can clearly be seen from the air.
29:03Arnold was given detailed plans of the building by another turncoat.
29:08With such knowledge, victory was almost guaranteed.
29:11But the stationed soldiers refused to surrender without a fight, and there were heavy casualties on both sides.
29:19Eventually, Arnold's forces won.
29:25Just across the Thames stands the more impressive Fort Trumbull.
29:31But back in 1781, it was only a three-sided rampart and garrisoned by just 23 men.
29:38Arnold took it easily.
29:42Missing out on one conflict, Fort Trumbull finally had a military role.
29:47Over 150 years later, during the Cold War, it served as a top-secret laboratory for the Navy.
29:58Today, the fort complex contains a museum.
30:02Today, the fort complex contains a museum.
30:06With over 225 years of military history on display.
30:20A flotilla of small sailing boats take safe harbor in one of Connecticut's jewels, Mystic Seaport.
30:28The Museum of America and the Sea.
30:32This is the country's largest maritime museum, and many sailing ships from America's past have been brought here.
30:42Including the Charles W. Morgan, the nation's only surviving wooden whaling ship.
30:50And the Joseph Conrad, named for the author of Heart of Darkness,
30:54a novel that would later inspire Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now.
31:03The museum also houses a 19th century fishing village.
31:08Although most of the houses are authentic, they were moved here from various locations around New England.
31:14Waterbury was once famous for making clocks, so it's only fitting that the largest timepiece in New England resides here.
31:24This enormous clock tower was a late addition to plans for the Waterbury train station.
31:31In 1909, the president of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad had gone to Italy with his wife.
31:37He was so entranced by the toy dementia of Siena that upon his return, he decided to create a replica of that tower here.
31:47He enlisted the same architectural firm that created Ellis Island's Great Hall and the original Penn Station in New York.
31:55He spared no expense to add the 245-foot tall structure and the 16-foot clock.
32:03In Connecticut, you are never far from water.
32:07But its largest and most famous lake was actually made by human hands.
32:13This 16-mile long body of water was created by the Connecticut Light and Power Company and is used to generate hydroelectric power for the area.
32:22Back in 1928, the lake project cost a total of $1 million, which is how much some of the homes on its manufactured shoreline are now worth.
32:35Beneath the surface, divers can still see old roads, houses, farms, and other buildings.
32:42In its early days, the lake was known by many names, but Candlewood was the one that stuck, after the nearby mountain.
32:52Evocative names are everywhere in Connecticut.
32:56The name Candlewood comes from the name Candlewood, which means candle in English.
33:01Candlewood was the name given to the lake when it was first discovered.
33:05And perhaps none more so than Lillanoa Lake, along the headwaters of the Housatonic River.
33:12It's named after one half of a tale of doomed love.
33:17Accounts say Lillanoa had rescued a lost white man in the forest and fallen for him.
33:25The young lovers eventually convinced her father to take her to the lake.
33:29But first, the prospective groom left to pay a last visit to his people.
33:35When the young man didn't return soon, Lillanoa's father arranged his daughter's marriage to a young man of the tribe.
33:45Distraught, Lillanoa took a canoe out in the high waters of the Housatonic River.
33:50Suddenly, she saw her beloved calling out to her.
33:54And he dove into the raging waters to save her.
33:59In their final embrace, the couple decided to go back to the lake.
34:04But Lillanoa's father was not there.
34:07He was on the other side of the river.
34:10Lillanoa's father was on the other side of the river.
34:14Lillanoa's father was on the other side of the river.
34:17In their final embrace, the couple disappeared into the falls.
34:23Legend has it that their recovered bodies were still locked in each other's arms.
34:28Hydroelectric dams have eliminated the actual falls,
34:32but the gorge and its modern bridge are now named Lover's Leap in their honor.
34:37Back in the 17th century, parts of southwestern Connecticut were claimed by the neighboring New York colony.
34:48New York finally gave up its claim to the region, leaving Connecticut with several key cities, including Greenwich, founded in 1665.
34:59More recently, Greenwich's combination of New England charm and New York proximity has helped make it one of the state's most desirable places to live.
35:11With the highest median household income in the nation, Connecticut's southwestern shoreline is sometimes called the Gold Coast.
35:21One of the most exclusive communities in this very exclusive town is here in Belle Haven.
35:29In 1975, this neighborhood was the site of a notorious murder when 15-year-old Martha Moxley was found beaten to death with a golf club.
35:40The crime of murder is still a mystery to this day.
35:44The crime remained unsolved for many years, until the 1990s when interest in the case picked up again.
35:52Police returned to their original suspect, Michael Skakel.
35:58In 2002, Skakel was finally found guilty of the crime and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
36:05While Connecticut has many wealthy towns, the state's largest, Bridgeport, is only just beginning to recover from the loss of heavy industry in the 1970s.
36:17In the early 2000s, the state's economy was hit hard by the economic downturn.
36:23While Connecticut has many wealthy towns, the state's largest, Bridgeport, is only just beginning to recover from the loss of heavy industry in the 1970s and 80s.
36:38Every day, thousands commute the 60 or so miles to New York for work.
36:44The city has never been short on character.
36:48However, one such former resident certainly knew how to draw a crowd.
36:57Some called P.T. Barnum the greatest showman.
37:01Others, a marketing genius.
37:05But there's no denying that the man who has been quoted as saying,
37:08But there's no denying that the man who has been quoted as saying,
37:19This curious building houses his museum, chronicling a career that involved showcasing Siamese twins,
37:27an alleged mermaid,
37:29and a midget named Tom Thumb.
37:34Barnum lived to the ripe old age of 80.
37:38It was only after most people would have considered retirement that he made his most lasting contribution.
37:45A circus called P.T. Barnum's Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome.
37:59Near Bridgeport, a strange runway reveals the products of one of Connecticut's great success stories.
38:09Igor Sikorsky founded the aircraft company that bore his name in 1925.
38:17Originally a maker of fixed-wing aircraft, Sikorsky invented the first mass-produced helicopter in 1942,
38:25and changed aviation history forever.
38:30Today, this factory makes the Black Hawk helicopter for the U.S. military.
38:35Their latest models go through practice runs over the Connecticut countryside.
38:43Sikorsky died at home in eastern Connecticut in 1972.
38:47Without him, aerial America might never have been possible.
38:57Known as the Eiffel Tower of Long Island Sound,
39:00the Faulkner's Island Lighthouse still stands proudly more than two centuries after it was built.
39:07The lighthouse was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson because of ships being wrecked on their way to and from Guilford.
39:15Congress authorized its construction at the price of $6,000, or almost $120,000 today.
39:25But the lighthouse almost had a very short lifespan.
39:29When British troops landed here during the War of 1812, the Keeper feared they might destroy the tower.
39:36But the British soldiers knew they needed the lighthouse to sail in and out of port safely,
39:41and asked only that the light keep burning here.
39:46In recent years, the only threat to the lighthouse has been Mother Nature.
39:51The island has had a stone wall added to help stop erosion.
39:58At the intersection of Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River lies Old Saybrook,
40:04the oldest town on the shoreline.
40:07It was also the site of Connecticut's first English fort.
40:12For years, residents of this close-knit coastal community used to see an old woman biking through town.
40:19She was such a regular sight that most never gave her a second look.
40:23Even though she was one of the most famous actresses of all time, Catherine Hepburn.
40:36Her family first summered here in 1912.
40:42When the original house was swept away in a 1938 hurricane, it was rebuilt.
40:47When the original house was swept away in a 1938 hurricane, it was rebuilt.
40:53This time, in brick.
40:58During her years as a Hollywood celebrity, Hepburn often came here to escape for long weekends.
41:05Sometimes with guests like Spencer Tracy or Howard Hughes.
41:12When she got older, she came to stay in Old Saybrook for good.
41:17And this was where she died at the age of 96.
41:22Her 8,300 square foot house has been sold,
41:26but she donated four acres of beachfront property to the public to be used as a nature sanctuary.
41:39Before Hepburn became a star, another Connecticut actor, William Gillette, built Gillette Castle in East Haddam.
41:48He was the son of an important Hartford family and earned his big break from neighbor Mark Twain,
41:54who recommended him for a part in his play, The Gilded Age.
42:01Gillette built this eccentric dream home after his retirement.
42:05He liked to spy on his guests, including Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin, using mirrors from his bedroom.
42:14Since he had no heirs, he stated only that his castle should not fall into the hands of some glittering saphead
42:22who has no conception of where he is or with what's surrounded.
42:29It was ultimately bought by the state of Connecticut and turned into a popular public park.
42:44Sitting off the coast of Brentford are the Thimble Islands.
42:51There are about 200 of them, but the exact number depends on how high the tide is when they're being counted.
43:00Most are very small and easily covered, and fewer than 30 are large enough to be occupied.
43:08The islands didn't earn their name from being as small as thimbles, but from the thimbleberry,
43:14a type of blackberry that once grew all over here.
43:19By their very nature, the islands are extremely private, and there are no hotels or stores around.
43:27In fact, there are fewer than a hundred homes on all the islands, many of them Victorian cottages,
43:34built in the early 1900s.
43:40These quaint summer homes usually pass from one generation to the next,
43:46but several islands are so exclusive that they have just a single residence.
43:55The privacy and exclusivity of these homes have made them highly prized,
44:00resulting in heated bidding wars.
44:04The trophy of the group is a 1902 mansion on the 12-acre Rogers Island.
44:10In 1980, it was on the market for $1.8 million.
44:15In 1985, for $3 million.
44:19Then, in 2003, it was sold again for $22 million, almost eight times as much.
44:25At that price, the property should at least come with the promise of hidden treasure.
44:29But alas, Captain Kidd is rumored to have hidden his loot on Money Island, a mile to the southeast,
44:36or was it High Island? The stories vary.
44:41Horse Island is the largest of the thimble chain, and remains an ecological study center for Yale.
44:56Connecticut
45:01From its islands to its mainland, Connecticut is a state that continually redefines itself.
45:08To see Connecticut by air is to see its rich history, quiet beauty,
45:14and lasting monuments of its steady inhabitants.
45:18Home to inventors and writers, wealthy merchants and their eccentric children,
45:23ancestral lands to native inhabitants and Puritan values,
45:28ancient whalers and modern seafarers,
45:32it has long been and continues to be a steady leader in America's march toward a brighter future.
46:23For more information, visit nyseagrant.org