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Rhodes' Folly |
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RHODES' FOLLY IS a small island in Fisher's Island Sound, off the
town of Stonington, with a colorful history and an appropriate
name. One of the remarkable features of the island was that in the era following the Revolution, the state lines of three different states, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York, were said to meet on the island. This unusual circumstance was surely the thing that attracted a canny entrepreneur named James Rhodes to buy the island in 1785, for this was a time of prohibition and Rhodes was a man with a plan to sell liquor to sailors, without fear of prosecution. Rhodes' idea was to construct a large saloon on the very spot where the three state lines came together. If Connecticut officers entered on the Connecticut side of the room, Rhodes thought, he could quickly move his bar, booze, tables and chairs to Rhode Island, or New York, in another part of his establishment where they had no authority to arrest him. Or, if he were raided by officials from Rhode Island or New York, again, he could hastily carry his stuff into another state. The island seemed made to order for Rhodes. For a while, it looked as if old Jim had surely bought himself a goldmine. Since there was no end of maritime traffic passing by his front door, there was no end to the number of thirsty seamen stopping by for a slug of rum before heading for the "dry" land or the open sea. Oh, the authorities from each state tried to bust Rhodes from time to time, but as soon as he saw them at one door or another, he quickly moved his operation into a safe state, in another part of the saloon. One day, however, the sea-washed "line-house" was finally put out of business for good. That was the day, of course, when the frustrated prohibition agents from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York got together and came through all the doors at once. Ever since that fateful moment, the little island has been known as Rhodes' Folly.
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