Hodges Square Historic District in New London was recently added to the Connecticut Register of Historic Places. This recognition was unanimously approved by the State Historic Preservation Review Board, which will forward the listing to the National Park Service for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

As the gateway to New London, the Hodges Square Historic District consists of a 65.8-acre neighborhood in the northeastern section of the city at the intersection of Williams, Cole and Rosemary Streets. Located adjacent to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and overlooking the historic Thames River, this waterfront village also features the pristine Riverside Park and charming Williams Street retail promenade. Historic residential properties feature architectural styles typical of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Dutch Colonial Revival.

The Hodges Square Historic District was originally named for Arthur Frederick Hodges, a tragic figure of northern New London who as a young man became a volunteer fireman with the W.B. Thomas Hose Co. No. 3 of the New London Fire Department and joined the U.S. Navy as a machinist’s mate, first class, aboard the submarine USS S-4. On December 17, 1927, while conducting routine drills, the USS S-4 was accidentally struck and sunk off the coast of Cape Cod by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel returning from a rum-runner patrol. Despite heroic rescue efforts, all 40 men onboard were lost. Among the 38 submarine crewmen and two inspecting officers was Arthur Hodges. He was 29 years old.. 

 

From AAA Magazine, January/February 2017 AAA World/Connecticut edition