Built in 1876, it originally served as an interchange point between ocean-going freighters and the rail network of the Central Vermont Railroad.

[1] The Central Vermont Railroad Pier is located north of downtown New London, extending southward from Winthrop Point, a protrusion into the Thames River.

It is a granite-lined earth-filled structure, 1,100 feet (340 m) long, just west of the Connecticut State Pier.

It is a rare surviving example of a 19th-century intermodal freight facility, and is believed to be the only remaining 19th-century pier in the state.

Rail lines were run down the center of the pier, with goods offloaded from freighters directly onto trains.