Burnett's Corners Back In The Day

Having driven endless times through Burnett’s Corners on my way to the freeway, I have always had the feeling this area was once someplace noteworthy.  The 170-year old Pequot Hotel, small graveyard filled with familiar names and worn historic houses in close proximity are ghostly hints of a once thriving community.  

The crossroads of Cow Hill and Packer roads were once a lively hub of prosperity and what Historian Jim Streeter calls a self-sustaining village. 

Captain Richard Burnett, the area’s namesake, was married to Sally Haley of the Groton Haleys and in the 1830’s, the couple inherited the building adjacent to the Pequot Hotel, now the dilapidated Old Mason's Lodge.

This spot served as a meeting house for the Freemasons until 1842, when Burnett built Greek Revival Pequot Hotel which thereafter lodged commuting guests and held Freemason meetings. 

Packer Road was then named Lower Boston Post Road, which Jim Streeter says was the main stagecoach thoroughfare from Boston to New York. The Pequot Hotel was a convenient stopping point for travelers and brought much vibrancy and opportunity to the area.

Late Groton Historian Carol Kimball wrote, “Slow uncomfortable travel made taverns a necessity.  A 30-mile trip meant at least one night on the road.” With New London and Providence Turnpike Company established in 1818, Kimball states, “By 1835, daily stages drawn by four horses covered the 270 miles between New York and Boston in two days.”

In addition to the Inn, Burnett’s Corners also had a blacksmith shop, a printing shop, several mills and a school house. 

Nancy Mitchell, owner of Pequot Hotel since 1976, says the school house was once located across the street until Richard Burnett’s son, who settled in the Pequot Hotel, complained of the school yard ruckus.  Burnett offered to trade land with the town in exchange for moving the school.  His request was granted, and now the school house is a private residence on Godfrey Road.   

Hayley’s Brook, running through Burnett’s, supported many businesses and mills.

“Nearby was a small cloth mill called the Stone factory, which was later a site for witch hazel manufacture.  Other mills carded wool for home spinning or made cotton batting or cotton mops.” states Kimball.

The ropewalk, located in the central hub, was a long narrow building which allowed for the twining of ropes of hemp used for clotheslines, fishing line and ropes. 

Many of the old mills are now gone, leaving behind remnant stone foundations. 

The mill pond across from the Pequot Hotel, a favorite ice skating spot in the 1800's, was washed out by a hurricane during the 80’s according to Nancy Mitchell.

Railroad services in the late 1890’s caused a decline in traffic, sadly reducing the tourist economy.  Furthermore, development of Route184 caused traffic to bypass the hamlet. 

During the early 1900’s, the town turned to more mill development and farming to support the town economy. Burnett, who remained in Burnett’s Corners throughout his life, turned to farming and what businesses weren’t destroyed, eventually became residences in a quiet little community.