Silver Sands Beach

We live right across from Silver Sands Beach. This picture above is a great view of Charles Island at high tide, and it can't be reached. You can walk to Charles Island at low tide, but don't stay on it too long or you will have to swim back. Charles Island is a bird sanctuary and is fenced off, No Trespassing, it says. It has a long history of use, and they even say it's haunted because nothing has ever prospered there.

Tony and I have wondered about this island that we can see every day so it was interesting to read its history. We also started reading a little history of the town and it was amazing.

Buried treasure is said to exist on a small island the Indians called "Poquahaug", just a mile off Silver Sands Beach. It is a recognized fact that Captain Kidd and other pirates sailed and hid along the Connecticut coast. It’s no wonder that iron chests filled with "loot" are rumored to be buried on the land called Charles Island!

No one has successfully lived on the island for any length of time since Ansantawae, chief of the local Paugussett tribe, used the island as his family's summer vacation spot prior to 1639. That was the year he sold it to the early settlers in exchange for six coats, 10 blankets, one kettle, 12 hatchets, 12 hoes, 24 knives and 12 small mirrors.

Over the years, a succession of enterprises were begun and abandoned. Dreams of a tobacco plantation by Charles Deal in 1657 did not come to fruition. The plant that produced fertilizer from dead fish failed to flourish. A hotel was started in the 1880's, but eventually closed. Finally a retreat for Dominican priests from New Haven was tried and subsequently given up. The nickname "Hard Luck Island" evolved as a result of these ill-fated enterprises.

A Cursed Island
The island is also the recipient of a string of curses, the first curse supposedly cast by a Native American chief in response to his daughter's kidnapping. They also say that Captain Kidd buried iron chests filled with gems and gold somewhere on Charles Island. And that Kidd left a second curse that would befall anyone who might disturb his treasure before he returned, so it hasn't ever been found.

The third curse a is supposedly because of a Mexican emperor named Guatmozin. Five sailors are said to have found Guatmozin's treasure in a Mexican cave in 1721 and brought it back to Milford. Four of the five sailors met terrible deaths. The fifth hid the treasure in the basement of the old Milford Inn, but apparently a drunken customer came across it while searching the cellar for beer. In the dead of night, as the story goes, the remaining sailor rowed out to the island and buried the booty, thereby imposing the last mighty curse upon the already beleaguered island.

February 1, 1639, is the date the area then known as "Wepawaug" was purchased from Ansantawae, chief sachem of the Paugusset Tribe. Settlers began arriving shortly thereafter and began to build the town known as Milford. Townspeople played a part in the development of the United States. Adventurers from Milford reached out and founded several other communities and explored afar.

Three governors of Connecticut called Milford their home. Fort Trumbull was built to provide protection in the late 1700s during the Revolutionary War. Yes, George Washington dined and rested here! During the Civil War, Milford was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Although primarily agrarian, shipbuilding, oystering, small industry and trade on the open seas from the harbor were part of the local economy. The early 1900's brought the leather industry along with the making of boots, hats and shoes. Milford was also famous for carriages, which were sold throughout the centuries.

After World War II, the population swelled as GIs returned from the war and bought houses in the suburb of New Haven and Bridgeport called Milford. Industry also developed to support the war effort. Norden, Milford Rivet, U.S. Motors, and Edgecomb Steel were some of the familiar names of the time. Other industry followed most notably the consumer giants of Bic and Schick. Then the completion of I-95 in 1960, with its seven exits and entrances brought easy access. The Connecticut Post Shopping Center and other development followed rapidly. Development reached a peak in the 70s and 80s, leveled off in the early 90s and then picked up again in the late 90s until we reached our present population of over 52,000 and businesses that number over 2,000.