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

Neptune

Witness Stone

Photographed by Conrad Ward, January 18, 2025

1. Neptune Witness Stone

Inscription. "Negro boy"
of Judge John Griswold
Baptized 1741

Erected 2023 by Witness Stones Project. (Marker Number CT157.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1741.

Location. 41° 17.081′ N, 72° 18.424′ W. Marker is in Old Lyme in Lower Connecticut River Valley Region, Connecticut. It is at the intersection of Old Shore Road and Buttonball Road, on the right when traveling west on Old Shore Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Old Lyme CT 06371, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Connecticut Shoreline,

in Greater New London, in Mystic and the Eastern Shore,

and in the Thames River Valley.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in New England,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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 New London County

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby

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markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Prince Griswold Crosley (here, next to this marker); Cornelia (here, next to this marker); Phyllis (here, next to this marker); Jack Freeman (here, next to this marker); Hagar Jeffrey (here, next to this marker); George (here, next to this marker); York (here, next to this marker); Salem Freeman (approx. 2.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Old Lyme.

Also see . . . Neptune - Witness Stones Project.

Only the record of Neptune’s baptism documents his life in Lyme. Except for the notation in a church list on May 17, 1741, the “negro boy” of John Griswold, a prosperous farmer and the town’s judge of probate, does not appear in the historical record.

(Submitted on August 3, 2025.)

Witness Stones image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Conrad Ward, January 18, 2025

2. Witness Stones

Photographed by Conrad Ward, January 18, 2025

3. Witness Stones

(Neptune is right section, upper left)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 3, 2025, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 61 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 3, 2025, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.