One of Stamford, Connecticut’s favorite waterfront open spaces is Cove Park, which is home to the Cove Island Houses on the National Register of Historic Places. The Cove Island Houses are actually a single house that was first built in 1791. It is a Georgian style house with an older Federal style wing. The Cove Island Houses are the last remaining structure from the great fire that destroyed Stamford Mills in 1919.
Cove Island Houses began as a small tidal water mill on the eastern end of Cove Island. The Stamford Manufacturing Company over the next century grew to become the largest factory in Stamford.
By 1832, the factory was at the forefront of the science of extracting textile dyes from wood for dyeing needed by the burgeoning textile industry. By the late 1800s, the Stamford Manufacturing Company employed more than 500 workers on 70 waterfront acres in the Cove section of Stamford. The main product of the factory was the extraction of textile dyes from exotic tropical woods, bark, and licorice paste that was used in drugs.
On February 19, 1919, a fire started in one of the acid storage rooms of the giant Cove Mills complex and quickly spread to become by far the most destructive fire in Stamford’s history.
The flames were fueled by a strong northwesterly wind that completely overwhelmed the combined power of all firefighting units in the surrounding community. The sky was filled with an apocalyptic red glow and thousands of spectators gathered on the high ground above the mills as boilers exploded, brewing vats exploded and factory walls collapsed.
Winds were so strong that two barges broke free of their moorings and were swept into harm’s way and onlookers watched anxiously as two women and three men required rescue from a scene of fiery chaos.
The smoldering embers hurled from the inferno hit General Skiddy’s Pound Rocks mansion and Holley House, which was the center of the Cos Cob artist colony, but were sprayed by spectators on the rooftops. Fortunately, most of the burning torches of hell were thrown into the sea and the fire eventually died down leaving a twisted remains of chimneys and charred rubles.
Today, Cove Island Park is one of the quieter oceanfront open spaces and a favorite beach for Stamford residents. Since 2000, the park has been the site of SoundWaters, a nonprofit environmental education organization that offers a free small aquarium, a site for school field trips, and family activities aboard an 80-foot schooner. Cove Island Park is 84 acres with two sandy beaches, features a mile-long loop trail for walking and running, a bike and rollerblade trail, and a playground.
Cove Island Houses located in Cove Island Park are on the National Register of Historic Places in Stamford, Connecticut and are two of the best Stamford beaches for visiting Long Island Sound.