Westbrook in Lower Connecticut River Valley Region, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)

Enoch Murdock House

Photographed by Conrad Ward, April 13, 2024

1. Enoch Murdock House Marker

Inscription.

Enoch Murdock House. . Murdock Hill. The hilltop where you are standing, known as Murdock Hill, is one of the highest points in the town of Westbrook. Just west of here the land slopes downward significantly and the forested upland gives way to salt marshes surrounding the Menunketesuck River., The landscape here changed significantly in the early 1700s as English colonists from Saybrook began to spread out and farmers looked for more land to buy. Trees were cleared and turned into homes and barns. Where forest had been, pasture land and crops took hold., Enoch and Mary Murdock built the original home on this property, along with some smaller buildings, in the 1750s. Here the Murdocks had three children, raised livestock and planted crops. Their original house did not look as grand as the one you see here today. It was a center chimey colonial made from wood, without the fieldstone exterior that came much later., Generations of Murdocks maintained the property as a farm, and their legacy lives on in this small home and the hilltop named for them., The Salt Meadow Estate. By the early 20th century many old farms along the Connecticut coast were being bought and used as "country retreats" by people who wanted to have an escape from their daily lives in urban places like New York City., Esther Lape and Elizabeth Read, two professional women who lived and worked in Manhattan, visited Westbrook by rail in May 1927 with an appointment to see a local real estate agent. Their idea was to buy a rustic piece of property with views on Long Island Sound. The brisk salt-air breeze, wrote Esther Lape, and "the perfect combination of woodland and meadows" convinced them to buy the old Murdock farm., The ladies renamed the place Salt Meadow, because of the beautiful salt marsh on the property, and they came here as often as they could get away. Their days were spent making improvements to the old farmhouse, planting flower gardens, creating walking trails and enjoying the abundant wildlife. , Many guests accompanied Lape and Read here over the years, including their very close friend Eleanor Roosevelt, who sometimes stayed in a bedroom on the second floor of the old house.

Murdock Hill The hilltop where you are standing, known as Murdock Hill, is one of the highest points in the town of Westbrook. Just west of here the land slopes downward significantly and the forested upland gives way to salt marshes surrounding the Menunketesuck River.

The landscape here changed significantly in the early 1700s as English colonists from Saybrook began to spread out and farmers looked for more land to buy. Trees were cleared and turned into homes and barns. Where forest had been, pasture land and crops took hold.

Enoch and Mary Murdock built the original home on this property, along with some smaller buildings, in the 1750s. Here the Murdocks had three children, raised livestock and planted crops. Their original house did not look as grand as the one you see here today. It was a center chimey colonial made from wood, without the fieldstone exterior that came much later.

Generations of Murdocks maintained the property as a farm, and their legacy lives on in this small home and the hilltop named for them.

The Salt Meadow Estate By the early 20th century many old farms along the Connecticut coast were being bought and used as "country retreats" by people who wanted to have an escape from their daily lives in urban places like New York City.

Esther

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Lape and Elizabeth Read, two professional women who lived and worked in Manhattan, visited Westbrook by rail in May 1927 with an appointment to see a local real estate agent. Their idea was to buy a rustic piece of property with views on Long Island Sound. The brisk salt-air breeze, wrote Esther Lape, and "the perfect combination of woodland and meadows" convinced them to buy the old Murdock farm.

The ladies renamed the place Salt Meadow, because of the beautiful salt marsh on the property, and they came here as often as they could get away. Their days were spent making improvements to the old farmhouse, planting flower gardens, creating walking trails and enjoying the abundant wildlife.

Many guests accompanied Lape and Read here over the years, including their very close friend Eleanor Roosevelt, who sometimes stayed in a bedroom on the second floor of the old house.

Erected by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1927.

Location. 41° 17.228′ N, 72° 28.318′ W. Marker is in Westbrook in Lower Connecticut River Valley Region, Connecticut. It can be reached from Old Clinton Road half a mile

Photographed by Conrad Ward, April 13, 2024

2. Enoch Murdock House Marker

north of Hammock Road, on the left when traveling north. Located in the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Westbrook CT 06498, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Connecticut River Valley

and on the Connecticut Shoreline.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in New England.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Middlesex County

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lape-Read House (within shouting distance of this marker); Salt Meadow Trail System (within shouting distance of this marker); The Westbrook Barrier Islands (approx. one mile away); Welcome to Kirtland Landing (approx. 1.1 miles away); Rev. Worthington & Rev. Devotion (approx. 1.1 miles away); Jude (approx. 1.1 miles away); Toby Bardo (approx. 1.1 miles away); Westbrook (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Westbrook.

Also see . . . Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. (Submitted on July 5, 2024, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)

Enoch Murdock House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Conrad Ward, April 13, 2024

3. Enoch Murdock House

House is a private residence.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 30, 2024, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 598 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 30, 2024, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.