Mother-in-Law Island
Mother-in-Law Island is an island in the Thimble Islands group, part of the Stony Creek-Thimble Islands Historic District on Long Island Sound in Branford, Connecticut. It is also known as Johnson Island, Prudden Island, and Little Stooping Bush. One house, a frame-structured house built around 1965, stands on the island.[1]
Naming of the island
The island is said to have been named "Mother-in-Law Island" after two people got married on Money Island and then rowed off to the nearby island, planning to spend the night there in a tent.[2] The newlywed woman's mother followed them to the island in another rowboat. That night, when the mother-in-law fell asleep, the couple, who felt their privacy was being invaded, went back to Money Island and took both boats with them, leaving her stranded there for three days before she was rescued.[2][3][4]
In the entry of the National Register of Historic Places for the Stony Creek-Thimble Islands Historic District (filed in 1988), the island is called Johnson Island, with Prudden and Mother-in-Law listed as alternative names.[1] It as also been called Little Stooping Bush.[4]
References
- Stony Creek/Thimble Islands Historic District NRHP Registration Form (November 14, 1988), section 7, p. 21.
- Van Auken, Cecelia,"Boat's captain tells the story of enchanting Thimble Islands", Bridgeport Post, July 17, 1966—via Newspapers.com
- Sachs, Andrea (2012-09-06). "In Connecticut, cute-as-Thimble Islands". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
- Anne Farrow, "Summer Places", Hartford Courant, July 11, 1999. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
- Wealthy Widow Buying Up Thimbles, "New Haven Register", January 22, 2006, page A1