Biography of Joseph T. Cruttenden
Joseph T. Cruttenden (b. c. 1856)was a real estate developer in East Lyme, Connecticut. His father, Henry Cruttenden from Norwich, owned property in Crescent Beach, Niantic. He sold lots of this property to people building summer cottages. After the death of the senior Cruttenden in the late nineteenth century, his sons formed the Crescent Beach Land Company to continue this development. Joseph T. Cruttenden was the eldest of these sons and headed the company.
Scope and Contents of the Papers
The Cruttenden collection includes personal papers involving the buying and selling of yachts by Joseph T. Cruttenden and the papers regarding the development of the Crescent Beach community in Niantic, Connecticut. The Crescent Beach records include advertising for the Crescent Beach community, house specifications, and clippings regarding Crescent Beach. The bulk of the collection includes blueprints, maps, and architectural drawings for the homes built at Crescent Beach Land Company, which was headed by Joseph T. Cruttenden and which oversaw the development of the commuity. Blueprints and specifications for approximately three other homes in Niantic, Connecticut, are also included. The blueprints and drawings are currently unprocessed.
The personal papers are composed primarily of correspondence detailing the advertisement and sale of yachts, launches, life boats and other small vessels, vessel specifications, and advertisements for boating equipment, and clippings regarding yachting. This portion of the collection seems to have been part of private transactions and not part of a yacht brokering business. Also included in this portion of the collection are letters and invoices that do not pertain to yacht sales, but appear to be part of personal transactions or papers, including a World War I era pamphlet on water safety.
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division.
Restrictions on Use
Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Cruttenden, Joseph T.
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
Crescent Beach Land Company
JACK & TOIMERET (Sloop)
MARION (Sailboat)
NELL (Keel yawl)
SEA GULL (Row boat)
Places:
East Lyme (Conn.)
Niantic (East Lyme, Conn.)
Oswegatchie (East Lyme, Conn.)
Subjects:
Land companies
Real property
Yachts and yachting
Document Types:
Advertisements
Architectural drawings
Blueprints
Correspondence
Invoices
Nautical charts
Pamphlets
Specifications
Topographic maps
Occupations:
Real estate agents
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Administrative Information
Coll. 310, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
| Crescent Beach Land Company: Records; 1905 – c. 1917 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Crescent Beach Land Company brochures (includes brief history of the company and photographs of the location); c. 1917 (4 items) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Clippings about Crescent Beach; c. 1917 (3 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Specifications for home of Mrs. Edwin Palmer, Oswegatchie, Conn; 1905 Nov (1 piece) | ||||||||||||
| Crescent Beach Land Company: Blueprints, maps, charts, and architectural drawings; c. 1910 – 1920 | |||||||||||||
| This series is currently unprocessed. Please consult with the librarian on use policies. | |||||||||||||
| Joseph T. Cruttenden papers; 1891 – 1916 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Correspondence about yacht sales; 1894 (12 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 5 | Correspondence about yacht sales; 1899, 1901 (20 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Correspondence, misc.; 1894 – 1910 (12 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Yacht specifications; c. 1905 (13 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Advertisements and price lists for yachts; 1901 – 1905 (15 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Invoices; 1891, 1898 (4 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | World War I era pamphlet on water safety; c. 1916 (1 piece) | ||||||||||||