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Pequot Chapel


The Pequot Chapel is a charming Victorian-era chapel built in 1870 in the Carpenter Gothic Revival style. Operating for over 150 years, it is a non-sectarian house of worship welcoming all who wish to attend Sunday services and other special events through the summer, and a traditional service of lessons and carols in December. Each Sunday features a different minister from churches as close as downtown New London and as far away as Texas. It’s also a storybook setting for weddings from May through October. Built by hotel proprietor Henry Crocker, it provided churchgoing guests of the Pequot House a new option on Sundays, saving them from a tedious 45-minute horse and buggy ride to downtown churches three miles away. Incorporated in 1872, the deed was turned over to a Board of Trustees, which continues to operate and maintain the Chapel today. Pequot Chapel stands as a symbol of a cultural heritage in the best New England tradition. Pequot Chapel is blessed with two stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Mr. Tiffany was a regular summer visitor at the Pequot House and attendee of services at the Chapel.

Address: 857 Montauk Ave, New London, CT 06320
Distance from City Pier Water Taxi Landing: 2.2 Miles
Phone Number: (860) 442-0812
Hours: Sunday church services are held weekly at 10:00 AM June 22nd through September 7th
Chapel Tours: Private tours must be arranged in advance.

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Season Opens on CT Open House Day Saturday, June 12th

Season Opens on CT Open House Day Saturday, June 12th

Our water taxi service will get underway Saturday, June 12, 2021 with new programs and a renewed sense of purpose to promote history and heritage sites on the Thames, Amy Perry, the Thames River Heritage Park’s executive director announced today.

“It’s fitting that we’ll be launching our harbor cruises and boat tours on CT Open House Day which was created to enhance awareness and interest in the state’s tourism assets,” she said. In celebration of CT Open House Day the Park will be offering $5 rides on the hop-on hop-off harbor cruise running 11:40 am to 6:20 pm. Those passengers who show proof of being fully vaccinated may ride for free. Schedules, landing sites, tickets, season pass information and details can be found here. 

Harbor cruises will operate Saturday, Sundays, and holidays. For a limited time Chelsea Groton Bank is donating $50 for every season pass sold up to $1,000. Season passes provide unlimited rides all season.

The Park has added two new historic narrated boat tours to its lineup. In addition to the popular “Submarines, Battlefields, & Betrayers. Military Life on the Thames” and “Suffragettes, Puppeteers & Patriot. Women of the Thames”, the new tours include “Blowholes, Blubber, and Breaches. Whaling Tales on the Thames” and “Water, Wampum, and Medicine Wheels. Mohegan Life on the Thames.” The latter was developed in collaboration with the Mohegan Tribe and will be led by Mohegan Tribe members. The tours will run Fridays at 6:15 pm, Saturdays at 4:30 pm and 6:15 pm, and Sundays at 4:30 pm. The tours will originate at City Pier. Tickets are $25 for adults, $18 for children under 12 who are accompanied by an adult. Tickets are available here.

Organized group tours will be available this year. Tickets include lunch, a guide for the duration of the tour and admissions to park sites that are included in the three themed tours. Go to Group Tours.

The park has renewed its contract with Vixen Ledge Marine LLC to operate the water taxi. The company is owned by Scott Arsenault who served under the previous operator as a captain from 2016 to 2018 and has served as operator since 2019.

Our 2021 sponsors include Groton Utilities, 98.7 WNLC, The Day, Crocker’s Boatyard, Garde Arts Center, Engineering and Consulting Center for Excellence.

Thames River Water Taxi

Call for interactive tour interpreters

Call for interactive interpreters

Thames River Heritage Park seeks interpreters for its public and group tours during the 2021 tour season. The season begins on Friday, July 2 and ends on Sunday, September 12, 2021. Interpreters must be excellent storytellers, enjoy and care about people, and possess superior communication skills and enthusiasm for the Park’s partner heritage sites and the history of the Thames River estuary. Interpreters also need to be able to create a warm and welcoming environment for guests, capture their attention, and make them feel like they are part of the ongoing story of the heritage of the Thames River.

A stipend of $40 for 1 tour per day and $70 for 2 back-to-back tours per day will be made available to non-volunteer tour interpreters. Tours run for 75 minutes.

In support of the Park, TRHP Foundation operates 2 refurbished surplus U.S. Navy “liberty” utility boats that were used to shuttle sailors to shore from larger ships for liberty or free time. While the boats are interchangeable, during the season one boat typically serves as a water taxi and the other boat is used for regularly scheduled public narrated tours. The Park also offers private (group, chartered) narrated tours.

INTERPRETIVE PUBLIC BOAT TOURS: 

Interpretive TRHP Public Boat Tours: During the summer season, the Park will offer 4 rotating interpretive tour options (see below). The tours will be on Fridays @ 6:30 PM; Saturdays @ 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM; and Sundays @ 4:30 PM.

  1. Suffragettes, Puppeteers, and Patriots – Women of the Thames
  2. Submarines, Battlefields, and Betrayers – Military Stories on the Thames
  3. New London – The Whaling City on the Thames (title and tour outlines in development)
  4. The River Lives – Stories of the Mohegans of Massapequotuck (title and tour outlines in development)

Interpretive TRHP Special Boat Tours: The Park also plans to offer a couple of special tours in conjunction with the 240th Anniversary of the Battle of Groton Heights:

  1. Revolutionary Ghost Stories, which will be narrated by a member of the Seaside Shadows team.
  2. Battle of Groton Heights and the Burning of New London (title, tour outline, and guides TBD)

INTERPRETIVE TRHP PRIVATE GROUP (CHARTER) BOAT TOURS: In addition to the public tours, TRHP offers private group tours during the weekdays for which interpreters are needed. The tours include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. In Defense of Our Country – Military Stories on the Thames
  2. The Well-Heeled and the Wannabees – Summering on the Thames in the Gilded Age
  3. From Pioneers to Playwrights – Three Centuries of Daily Life Along the Thames

Our interpreters’ creative talent and artistic interpretation of our local history and heritage add greatly to guests’ experience of Thames River Heritage Park, its partners, and our region.

For more information contact:

Group Tour and Waterfront Coordinator
Thames River Heritage Park
[email protected]
(860) 333-6706

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