How Private Is This Community Off the Coast of Connecticut? No Comment.
Thick, white clouds obscured the skyline at 7 a.m. on a recent weekday morning, when a ferry bound for Fishers Island, N.Y., departed New London, Conn. Carrying mail, groceries and day workers, the boat churned through slate-colored water, past the island’s rocky shoreline and into a small harbor where it docked with little fanfare about 45 minutes later.
A light mist fell as homes overlooking the water came into view. A summer colony dating back to the late 1800s, Fishers Island is an exclusive enclave where generations of old-money families gather to sail and golf. Over the years, Fishers Island residents have included members of the du Pont family—the name still populates the island’s annual phone book—along with former New Jersey Gov.
Tom Kean, author Rick Moody, former CIA director Porter Goss and Henry Luce III, the late publisher of Time magazine. But you won’t find these boldfaced names trumpeting their ties to the island: Fishers Island is exceedingly private. Roughly two-thirds of the island is gated, and in some areas there are few street names or house numbers.
Socializing largely revolves around sailing, golf and tennis, and the island has two exclusive country clubs with yearslong waiting lists, according to several members. Homes trade infrequently and, when they do, sales are rarely publicized. Even Pierce Rafferty, the director of the island’s Henry L.
Ferguson Museum, said he has a policy of not speaking to reporters about the island. “It’s not that we’re secretive or anything," said Thomas L. duPont, a longtime summer resident and commodore of the Fishers Island Yacht Club.
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