East Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,159 at the 2010 census. The villages of Niantic and Flanders are located in the town.

History

The Thomas Lee House, built circa 1660, is the oldest house in Connecticut that is still in its primitive state. This building is located in the southwestern section of East Lyme, adjacent to Rocky Neck State Park, at the intersection of Connecticut Route 156 and Giants Neck Road. Co-located on this site is the one-room Little Boston Schoolhouse, which was relocated to its current location from across Route 156. The town features six homes from 1699 or earlier, and the Old Stone Church Burial Ground from 1719 located off Society and Riverview roads.

The area occupied by the town was originally inhabited by the Nehantic people, who maintained villages in the present-day Indian Woods section as well as on Black Point, in the McCook’s Beach area and near the Niantic River. The tribe allied itself with the colonists in the 1636 war against the Pequot people. The Nehantic would die out in the mid-19th century. The 1750s Ezra Stiles map shows the Nehantic village in what is now Indian Woods as consisting of “12 or 13 huts”.

East Lyme, then a part of Lyme, had several taverns which offered stopping places for travelers such as Sarah Kemble Knight. These included Calkins Tavern on what is now Boston Post Road, Royce’s Tavern, and Taber Tavern near present-day I-95. At least 45 Revolutionary War veterans are buried within the borders of East Lyme, and countless more veterans from East Lyme found resting places in upstate New York, New Hampshire and Ohio. Moses Warren, along with General Samuel Holden Parsons originally of Lyme and Moses Cleaveland, set out to survey the Ohio Territory in the latter part of the 1790s and has Warren County, Ohio named after him.

Notable locations

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,118 people, 6,308 households, and 4,535 families residing in the town. The population density was 532.3 people per square mile (205.6/km²). There were 7,459 housing units at an average density of 219.2 per square mile (84.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 87.29% White, 6.37% African American, 0.44% Native American, 2.82% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.21% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.59% of the population.

There were 6,308 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $66,539, and the median income for a family was $74,430. Males had a median income of $53,333 versus $37,162 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,765. About 1.7% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.