Issues → May/June 2008 → Interact → 10 Things to Do →

A Sampler of New England's Prettiest Towns

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(page 5 of 5)

Brewster is not the oldest; settled in 1656, it's younger than Sandwich, the first town settled on the Cape in 1637. But it's my favorite for dining. It may be difficult to get reservations for dinner at Chillingsworth, but it tops the Cape's list of restaurants every year.

Antiquing along Main Street caters to both the serious collector and the seeker of collectibles. Two churches and an ancient graveyard complete the town.

In early spring the herring make a frenzied show at the Stony Brook Mill on Stony Brook Road. Year-round the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History introduces children and grown-ups to nature's side of the Cape -- there are aquariums of amphibians, displays of shells and bugs, depictions of the havoc that pollution is wreaking. Check the tide schedule, then follow one of the paths behind the museum that leads out to the marshes.

With all this activity, you'd think Brewster would be my choice for a busy weekend. Not so. I like Brewster best for curling up with a book for the day at my inn.

Old Wethersfield, Connecticut

When architects see something they like, they tend to stand in one place and waggle their hands a lot. Strange words like dentil, quoin, pilaster, and oriel spring from their lips. If you'd like a demonstration of this, take an architect to Old Wethersfield, just south of Hartford. Established in 1634, this town was an important port on the Connecticut River -- until the river changed its course and left Old Wethersfield behind. Passed by, the town retained its past -- and grew as a suburb of Hartford. Today it is an unusual community because it has at least one house in every architectural style from every period in America, from an early Colonial with overhang to low-slung ranch houses and everything in between. Architects go wild.

Wethersfield grew on agriculture, primarily onions. There are a number of historic buildings open to the public, including the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, a melding of three 18th-century houses. Inside you can see the contrasting lifestyles of the resident diplomat, merchant, and leather worker. George Washington really did sleep in the Webb house. Gardeners, here also is the home of Comstock, Ferre & Co., the nation's oldest continuously operating seed company.

After cruising around the streets of town, drive to the old cove, what was the original bustling harbor, to view Wethersfield's -- and the country's -- only remaining 17th-century warehouse. This now-quiet spot saw exports of fish and salt beef in the 1640s and imports of rum, molasses, and wool in the 1700s. All the commotion of busy trade seems very far away, especially when you're standing under a tree listening to birdsong.

Little Compton, Rhode Island

Rhode Islanders quickly name Little Compton as the prettiest town in their state, but they won't tell you how to get there. This small town, down in the Sakonnet area, is not a wide spot in the road -- it's a bend in the road, twisting itself around its formidable white church. This is just a warning: If you head down to Sakonnet in search of Little Compton, you should expect to get lost. The locals around this easternmost strip of Rhode Island take a perverse pleasure in not putting up road signs where they're most needed, like at intersections and forks in the road.

It's easier to get to Tiverton Four Corners, which is, if you know the way, pretty close to Little Compton. Those who make it to Tiverton Four Corners -- literally just a crossroads -- can stop at the gourmet's mecca, Provender, for a take-home loaf of freshly baked bread. And some directions. Then set out across the undulating farm fields for Little Compton. The houses get closer together, there's the playing field, then the graveyard, and you can't miss the church.

The reward at Little Compton is the Commons, a diner next to Wilbur's store, an emporium of this and that and some more this. When you arrive in Little Compton, perch on a stool along the counter of the Commons and have a plate of jonnycakes, any time of day. But lunch is just as regional. Chowder comes in a sturdy porcelain cup, clam fritters are big and crunchy, and an order of vanilla ice cream would be enough to satisfy two parties with a sweet tooth each. All is best eaten on the shaded patio on a steamy summer afternoon. Here you can watch the world of Little Compton go by -- a pickup truck, a pair of ladies heading for the Grange hall, the neighbors who check the notices tacked up by Wilbur's. Maybe a dog will trot by.

Want to visit more small towns? Go now!