Riverfront Park looks a lot different than it did at the turn of the 20th century. The crown jewel of Glastonbury was once one of the industrial centers of the town, home to multiple coal-powered mills. The area where the park now stands was a perfect spot; Located right next to the river there was plenty of access, but the bank was high enough that flooding wasn’t a major issue.
While the remnants of these days are mostly gone, there are a few reminders of the time. The most obvious is the coal dock located behind the community center, however there is a second, smaller reminder.
A small, brownstone wall sits in the middle of the reconstruction of the boardwalk. It seemed like it could’ve even been apart of the project. However, it predates the entire park by nearly a century.
One of the mills along the Connecticut River was the Riverside Paper Company. Ships came up the river and brought raw materials to make the goods and export the finished products. The Riverside Paper Company gave a steamboat company an acre of land to build a landing near their mill. When this was completely, a freighthouse was built to store materials, ranging from book covers to record sleeves.
All that remains now is two sides of the foundation, a small brownstone wall about ten feet down from the boardwalk. It can be seen easily from the new signage, which gives a detailed history of the landings that once existed at Riverfront Park.
Lost Glastonbury 