Dr. Karl Stofko

From Town Dentist to Town Historian

Fifty years a dentist, forty years as the town's memory keeper and storyteller

Dr. Karl Peter Stofko was a well-known dentist in town for more than 50 years after relocating here in 1965. Growing up in Bristol, Connecticut, Stofko received his undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College and earned his dental degree at the University of Michigan. By the time he graduated, Stofko knew city life wasn't for him. He wanted peaceful and quiet surroundings, and it turned out that East Haddam fit the bill. He was familiar with the town from childhood fishing trips here with his dad and grandparents. So, when he heard of an opening at Moodus dentist Dr. Bert Friedman’s practice, he remembered those idyllic trips and jumped at the opportunity.

Since 1991, Karl Stofko has researched, written, and presented more than 130 stories of East Haddam's past in his popular annual "Mysteries of East Haddam."

One reason Stofko became a dentist is that it left his evenings and weekends free for him to pursue his love of singing and performing. Weekly singing lessons boosted his many performances over the years with area choral groups such as the Middletown-based Gilbert & Sullivan Society.

Since 1985, he's been knee-deep in town history, serving as East Haddam’s Municipal Historian. He got his start in local history by mapping the First Church Congregational cemetery grounds, which sparked his interest in researching the genealogy of the families buried there. As part of his work, he’s been a longtime researcher at the Rathbun Library, where he was once dubbed "the assistant to the assistant librarian" for all his hours spent digging through old records. Stofko, who chaired the town's 1976 Bicentennial celebration, co-authored "A Brief History of East Haddam, Connecticut" in 1977 with fellow Historic Commission member Rachel Gibbs, laying the groundwork for an extensive town-wide architectural and historic-resources survey funded by East Haddam's Community Development Program and a matching state grant.

Stofko is probably best-known in town for his popular "Mysteries of East Haddam" series, which he began in 1991. During this annual presentation, he tells deeply researched stories that never made it into the town's proper histories, including tales of scandal, mystery, and the occasional murder.

Stofko in front of the East Haddam Historical Society museum, then located at the Amasa Day House barn, during a 1990s town Memorial Day parade.

In 2008, he founded Venture Smith Day to memorialize Smith's life, from his kidnapping in Africa to his enslavement, subsequent freedom, and accomplishments in pre-Revolutionary Connecticut. The annual event, which Stofko continues to organize, attracts visitors and Smith's descendants from around the country.

In 2022, the Town of East Haddam honored Dr. Stofko for his decades of work on town history, proclaiming December 8th, 2022, as Karl Stofko Day. He was recognized in 2023 by the Connecticut League of Museums with their Award of Merit for his many achievements as a historian. Since his 1965 arrival in town, Stofko's unwavering dedication and numerous contributions make him an indispensable civic resource and a much-cherished part of the East Haddam community.

Karl Stofko: Unearthing Local History and Culture

Karl walks through his life in chapters in this interview, from a WWII childhood in Bristol to choosing dentistry, discovering East Haddam, and four decades digging up the town's buried stories. Click through the segments below to hear him tell it in his own words.