Woodmont resident, Katie Murphy, has just completed a book about the history of Woodmont. On sale April 9 at local stores.

Woodmont On the Sound

A postcard history of Woodmont will be on sale beginning April 9 at area bookstores. Written by Woodmont resident Katherine Krauss Murphy and published by Arcadia Publishing of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Woodmont On the Sound includes more than 200 postcards and photographs, some never before published

Many of the images in Woodmont On the Sound were loaned from the Photography by Joseph collection, courtesy of Nancy Holt, and others from long-time Woodmont resident George Peacock.

The book traces the history of Woodmont, today a borough within the city of Milford, from its earliest days when the Paugusset Indians lived in a small village near Oyster River through two centuries of farming to the early 20th century when it became a popular summer resort, as trolleys ran through the area from New Haven to Bridgeport.

Stately wooden hotels, inns, and cottages welcomed guests for days, weeks, or the entire summer season. Woodmont was a destination for those seeking sun, swimming, boating, and fishing during the hot summer months. Before electricity, telephones, and automobiles, postcards were a fun and vital communication between Woodmont residents and the outside world.

“Woodmont is a special corner of the world that has touched thousands of people – many of whom spent time there during the summer when they were younger,” said Murphy. “It was, and still is, an old-fashioned neighborhood where people get to know each other, look after one another’s houses, pets, and kids. In some ways, visiting Woodmont and living in Woodmont is a bit like going back in time. It’s a little slower and friendlier, and it doesn’t change much.”
 
Murphy grew up in Milford and has lived in Woodmont for 35 years and has been involved in various Woodmont activities, including Woodmont Day, the Woodmont Civic and Recreation Association and the Borough of Woodmont. She was a former Woodmont Tax Collector.

A graduate of Lauralton Hall in Milford, she earned a B.A. in English from Monmouth University in New Jersey and an M.S. in English from Southern Connecticut State University. She has worked as a writer and editor in the public relations office at Yale-New Haven Hospital for the past 20 years and has been a free-lance writer for 25 years.
 
Murphy is the mother of three grown daughters; one of whom lives in Woodmont, and the other two in New York City. Her parents lived in Woodmont for four years right after World War II, in a cottage that has been in the family since the 1920s. Her brother also lives in Woodmont. She is interested in local history and preservation and is a member of the Milford Historical Society.
 

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