That's part of what makes Tokeneke so special. Topographically speaking, Tokeneke is unusual. Here, Tudor mansions, large Colonials, and other, more contemporary homes can be seen perched atop the jagged rocks which rise abruptly out of the icy-green waters of Long Island Sound. Many were designed by the country's leading architects, and are adjoined by tennis courts, vast gardens and fabulous swimming pools. We live with egrets, herons, the cormorants - even the geese are welcome here.
People here love the nature of the land.
That's one of the nicest things about Tokeneke, is that piece of land acquired by the trust,'' said Ken Reiss, who has lived in Tokeneke for the past nine years. Tokeneke has a rich history, much of which can be found in the records of the Darien Historical Society. Its name, for example, is taken from one of several Indian chiefs who ruled the hunting and fishing villages which dotted the shoreline before the first settlers arrived in the early 1640s. Beginning in the 1860s, when the New Haven Railroad opened up the Connecticut shore to vacationers, dozens of wealthy New Yorkers and other notables began to gravitate to Tokeneke to build summer cottages. Many of those same cottages are there today, but have subsequently been expanded into large, year-round residences.