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in: Cities in Connecticut, Stoneybrook, Towns, Cities and Towns

Stoneybrook

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1990 Calendar Map of Stoneybrook

Map of Stoneybrook from the 1990 BSC calendar.

Stoneybrook is a small suburban-like coastal town in the state of Connecticut in The Baby-Sitters Club book series by Ann M. Martin. Much of Stoneybrook is modeled after Princeton, New Jersey where the author grew up.

Stoneybrook is the hometown of many of the characters in the books, including the Baby-Sitters Little Sister book series by Ann M. Martin which focuses on Karen Brewer, Kristy Thomas' little stepsister. Stoneybrook was first mentioned in Kristy's Great Idea. It is the setting of all the books and their spin-offs, except for the California Diaries and the Super Specials when they are on vacation.

General

The zip code for Stoneybrook is 06800; according to The Baby-Sitters Club Secret Santa, it shares with the nearby town of New Hope.

The town has a mayor and town council. Mayor Keane is at the recycling center opening in Dawn Saves the Planet. There is one local newspaper, a radio station, and a downtown area. Stoneybrook is part urban, part country, and the outskirts are rural. The mail is postmarked in Stamford. The people from Stoneybrook are called "Stoneybrookers" in Dawn and the School Spirit War.

Channel 3 is a local channel mentioned in Mallory's Christmas Wish.

In Karen's Ice Skates, the mayor hosts hero-of-the-month where she honors five heroes each month. These are people who do exceptionally good deeds. She gives each person a medal of honor. As of this book there's a town official that will decide when the ice on the pond is safe for ice skating. There will be a red flag if the ice is not safe and a green when it is.

The town square in downtown Stoneybrook is called Palmer Square in Karen's Carnival and Karen's Easter Parade.

There's three neighborhoods described in the books— a ritzy side where the Brewer/Thomas Family and the Papadakis Family lives, an even ritzier side described in Dawn Schafer, Undercover Baby-sitter and Mary Anne and the Library Mystery, and the average side.

Theodore Ellway is a big shot in Stoneybrook. He had made a fortune building houses, and he died a very rich man. He gave a lot of money and land to the town, but many of his gifts had strings attached. For example, he donated a little park, which would only belong to the town for as long as the people in the town agreed to feed the ducks that visited a pond in the park.

Claudia notes that the Stoneybrook Yellow Pages is a slim phone book in Claudia and the Great Search.

Location

The city closest to Stoneybrook is Stamford (which is a real city in Connecticut). It is approximately an hour from New York City by train that goes to Grand Central Station. Stoneybrook is only a few exits away from New York via expressway via I-95. In Abby and the Secret Society, U.S. Route 5 goes through or near Stoneybrook. Several adults in the town commute to Stamford. In Mary Anne and the Zoo Mystery, the town of Bridgeport is mentioned to be nearby, it is the only other real life location in Connecticut to be mentioned in the series.

Hartford is ninety minutes away; it borders the Long Island Sound. If you get up at 5 a.m. you can reach Boston by 12 pm.

The town turns 250 in Graduation Day. There will be a parade and Claudia Kishi has been working on one of the floats.

In Karen's Prize, it's mentioned that Stoneybrook is in Fairfield County, a real county in Connecticut.

Nearby Towns

History

Stoneybrook was founded in 1791 and was built over ancient burial grounds. In Graduation Day, Claudia mentions that one of the founders is General John Bradshaw. He has a statue in downtown Stoneybrook. It's also noted that they played a role in the American Revolution.

Among the first settlers was Felicity Jane Smith and her family, escaping religious persecution, as mentioned in Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic. In the book it's also mentioned that Doc Swanson was the first person to by a horseless carriage. The Johanssen Family has an ancestor that is a hat maker. There was also a big blizzard at some point.

During the Civil War, Abigail Grey, a leading abolitionist, and a Quaker has been a resident at the time. She was suspected of being a railroad stationmaster in Abby and the Best Kid Ever.

In Kristy and the Missing Fortune, it's mentioned April 8 1832 Amos Murphy's best cow was stolen. On July 2, 1826 the widow Jones reports that a neighbors hog has destroyed her dahlias. It's later revealed there used to be a movie theatre where the supermarket is now. There used to be a bakery next door to Bellair's. In February 1863 says there was: a cow auction at the Gleeson farm, Mrs. Jacob Smythe, the baker’s wife, has left her home and taken up residence with her sister, Mrs. Matthew Poole, and there was a full moon.

During World War II, Mayor Christopher Armstrong was one of the few men remaining in Stoneybrook because he had a heart problem in Abby and the Secret Society. Mayor Armstrong was not well liked, except by the few people in his favor. He was known, as “a strong-armer,” which meant that he had ways of making people do what he wanted them to do. Pop-Pop Porter also mentioned that he’s heard rumors about the secret society, and that he suspected that Armstrong might have been part of it, Mr. Stanton. The town was mostly ran by women. There are three major war memorials to remember those who died listed by name.

There was a huge storm when the older BSC members were in the first grade that closed down school and left the town without electricity or phones for two days.

In Dawn and the School Spirit War, Mary Anne Spier mentions that there is a long standing rivalry with Howard Township. It goes back to when Richard and Sharon Spier were in high school.

There's a recycling bin by the courthouse mentioned in Dawn Saves the Planet. By the end of the book Dawn Schafer had helped the town get their own recycling center by Stoneybrook Middle School. Estelle Gonzalez is the chair person with Dawn helping her.

It's mentioned that the Brewer Family used to live in Stoneybrook for a long time; the name is mentioned in the first pages of a history of Stoneybrook book. The blizzard of '88 was also mentioned in Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook. The Bradford Court area used to be farmland and woods. In one of the history books of Watson's there's a chapter about the building of the library.

In Snowbound the town is hit by a snow storm and gets 28 inches of snow and a wind chill of -8. The Stoneybrook News writes an article on the weather.

Stoneybrook gets hit twice by a hurricane in Sea City, Here We Come! and Karen's Hurricane.

Local Government

Local News

Local Schools

Public Buildings

Residents

Families

Note: This is a list of people that have at least one child.

The Spencers, Gianmarcos, and Dodsons are some of the families that used the Baby-sitters Agency in The Truth About Stacey. The Kelly and Jaydell family were stood up by some of the members of the agency making the BSC look bad.

The Batts Family, Ingram Family, Hicks Family, Olatunji Family are only mentioned in Happy Holidays, Jessi and are several of the African American families in Stoneybrook.

In Beware, Dawn!, Graff, Graham, and Grant all are listed before the Gray Family in the phone book. It's unclear whether these are individuals, families, or couples.

A

  • Abbot Family (son mentioned in #75)
  • Abrams Family (daughter mentioned in SS#9)
  • Abou-Sabh Family (son mentioned in SS#10)
  • Archer Family (daughter mentioned in #50)
  • Armstrong Family (daughter mentioned in #108)
  • Arnold Family
  • Aronson Family (daughter mentioned in #75)
  • Amato Family (son mentioned in FF#10)
  • Atkinson Family (son mentioned in #75)
  • Avazian Family (son mentioned in #75)

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

  • Ingram Family (#103)
  • Irving Family (son mentioned in SS#7)

J

K

L

M

N

  • Nelson Family (daughter mentioned in #108)
  • Newbern Family (daughter shown in M #24)
  • Newton Family
  • Nicholas Family (son mentioned in #49)
  • Nofziger Family (daughter mentioned in SS#10)
  • Nolan Family (son mentioned in Logan's Story)

O

P

R

S

T

T

  • Vaughn Family (daughter mentioned in #5)
  • Volk Family (son mentioned in LS#57)

V

  • Valentine Family (daughter mentioned in #38)

Y

  • Yuan Family (son mentioned in LS#53)

W

Z

Others

Individuals and Couples

Temporary Residents

Former Residents

Hotels & Other Lodging Facilities

Local Businesses

Banks

Corporations

Theaters

Other Seth Engle owns his own carpentry business, however, it has never been named within the series.

Restaurants

Stores

In Karen's Swim Meet, a new sports is opened by Ron Carson.

Churches

Civic Organizations/Clubs

Parks and Playgrounds

Other Places

Note: Other Businesses that do not have names listed include a cab service that's used in Mallory Pike, No. 1 Fan. There is a bowling ally that is shown in Mary Anne and Camp BSC. There's an unnamed miniature store mentioned in Kristy and the Mother's Day Surprise.

Streets

Note: there's a private road near the Brewer residence that's mentioned in Kristy and the Cat Burglar.

Local Events

Trivia

  • In Jessi's Big Break, Jessi mentions that most of the shops close at 9.
  • There is a strip mall downtown.
  • In Claudia and the Terrible Truth, Erica mentions that there is a fund to help victims of abuse.
  • Property values are going up in Claudia and the Lighthouse Ghost. Natalie Barrett admits that Stoneybrook is an expensive place to live in Dawn and the School Spirit War.
  • There is an animal emergency clinic and people call them about lost pets in Claudia and the Mystery in the Painting,
  • In Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies two bedroom apartments can be from 800 to 2,000 dollars a month.
  • There's a new sewage plant plan in Kristy and the Baby Parade.
  • A diabetes clinic is going to open in Jessi's Wish. They already had volunteers and people to sign up when it does open. Miss Arnell is the director.
  • There's a coffee shop near the movie theater in Dawn's Big Date.
  • Mr. Gates is a barber mentioned in Hello, Mallory and in Kristy's Big Day. Mr. Pratt is mentioned to be another in the former.
  • There's a welcome woman that comes around when new people move in mentioned in Hello, Mallory.
  • Dr. Johanssen mentions that there's a children's clinic, but it's unclear whether it's part of the hospital or not in Logan Likes Mary Anne!.
  • The Murphy's were mentioned in Dawn and the Impossible Three, but it's unknown if they have children or not.
  • A row of townhouses were added a couple of blocks away from Forest Drive in Karen's Toys.
  • The power company sends out a meter reader in Shannon’s Story.
  • The electric company building is located in downtown Stoneybrook in Stacey and the Mystery at the Empty House.
  • The phone company building is located in downtown Stoneybrook in Abby and the Notorious Neighbor.
  • In Karen's Ducklings, Carnegie Park is mentioned to be just outside of Stoneybrook. It has a small lake inside the park.
  • Henrietta Hayes is the only juvenile author that lives in Stoneybrook although there are a few picture book illustrators as mentioned by Rioko Kishi in Mallory Pike, No. 1 Fan.
  • New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey have real life towns that were named as places close to Stoneybrook, whether intentional or not. These include:
    • Ryebrook is a real place in New York
    • Bricktown (Brick Township), Deerfield (Deerfield Township), Levittown, Haddonfield, and Mercer are all in New Jersey
    • Chatham is a real place in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey
    • Greenvale is a real place in New York and New Jersey.
    • Bridgeport and Stamford in Connecticut
  • Claudia calls Stoneybrook a small town where word travels fast in Claudia and the Sad Good-bye.
  • In Karen's Cowboy, Karen mentions that the part of Connecticut she live has big hills.
  • It is against the law in Stoneybrook to burn leaves and everyone has to put their leaves out for compost for the parks department in Baby-sitters Beware.
  • The town used to be spelled "Stoneybrooke" in the 19th century, it's unclear when the 'e' was dropped.

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