The 9/11 Living Memorial

Sherwood Island State Park is home to the 9/11 Living Memorial, Connecticut's official memorial to the people who died on September 11, 2001. It stands on Sherwood Point, the grassy peninsula between East Beach and West Beach, where on a clear day you can see the New York City skyline. A nine-foot granite stone faces Manhattan, flanked by individual memorial names for the Connecticut victims.

Why Sherwood Island

DEEP explains the choice simply: from this shore, on a clear day, the Manhattan skyline is visible, and before September 11, 2001, that view included the twin towers of the World Trade Center. On that day, and for several days after, smoke from the site could be seen from the park, and people gathered here to pay their respects. The Governor's office and the Office of Emergency Management also designated Sherwood Island as a staging area to support New York City, although it was never activated.

What You Will See

The memorial is set into a grassy area on the peninsula. Its centre is a nine-foot-long granite stone, oriented so that visitors face the Manhattan skyline as they read the inscription. DEEP gives the inscription as: "The citizens of Connecticut dedicate this living memorial to the thousands of innocent lives lost on September 11, 2001 and to the families who loved them."

Flanking the main stone are individual memorial names. DEEP publishes the full list as a PDF called "We Remember – Memorial Names", linked from the park page.

Dedication and Later Additions

• September 2002: the memorial was dedicated, and the names of 161 Connecticut residents and close family members of residents who died that day were read aloud.
• September 2003: 153 individual memorial names, flanking the main stone, were installed and dedicated.
• September 2011: for the tenth anniversary, bio-plaques and a sculpture incorporating artifacts from the World Trade Center were installed in the park's main pavilion and dedicated.

The main pavilion is closed for the 2026 season, so the indoor plaques and sculpture may not be open to visitors this year. The outdoor memorial on the point is part of the open park. Call the park at (203) 226-6983 to check before a visit made for the pavilion pieces.

Visiting

Drive in on the Sherwood Island Connector from I-95 exit 18 and follow the park road toward Sherwood Point; DEEP's map shows a pavilion parking lot beside the memorial. DEEP lists the memorial among the park's accessible features. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset (hours). Parking is free for Connecticut plates; out-of-state cars pay the normal fee (parking).

This is a place of remembrance inside a busy summer park. Many visitors come early in the morning or out of season, when the point is quiet.

September 11 at the Park

Each year the park is the focus of Connecticut's 9/11 remembrance. DEEP's page says parking fees for the public were waived every September 11 through 2025; it does not yet say whether that continues. Check DEEP's park page before September.

Families: Connecticut's 9/11 immediate family members have lifetime parking passes. An immediate family member of a Connecticut victim who needs a new or replacement pass can call DEEP State Parks at (860) 424-3200 or email DEEP.stateparks@ct.gov.

Donations

DEEP accepts donations for the memorial's upkeep by check made out to "Department of Energy and Environmental Protection", with "9/11 Memorial Donation" in the memo line, mailed to DEEP–State Parks & Public Outreach, 9/11 Memorial Donation, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106.

Nearby in the Park

After the memorial, the beaches are on either side of the point (beach guide), and the Nature Center is on the east side. For the park's own long history, read how Sherwood Island became Connecticut's first state park.