These stone walls in the middle of Barn Island Marsh run across a wetland that just two centuries ago was still a cornfield, demonstrating the recent rise of sea level.

come rarely, but when they arrive, they wreak dramatic changes in the coast. Beaches are breached or even swept away completely, salt marshes are filled with sand, vegetation is destroyed, houses and boats are smashed into kindling wood. And lives are lost.

The last great hurricane to careen into Connecticut came on September 21, 1938. Smaller hurricanes are more frequent and have since struck in 1944, 1954, 1955, 1960, and 1976. But visits by hurricanes of the scale of 1938 are rare and are recorded only for the years 1635, 1683, 1815, and 1821. Many stories of the impact of the '38 hurricane exist, yet few are more telling than the following: Three sisters owned 50 acres of prime Connecticut shorefront property that they planned to sell at an auction. The storm struck and by the time of the intended auction only two acres remained! During a hurricane, things thought permanent are shown to be transitory and the transitory nature of the Coast is shown to be its only permanent feature.

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