The Cruttenden collection includes personal papers involving the buying and selling of yachts by Joseph T. Cruttenden and the papers regarding the development of the Crescent Beach community in Niantic, Connecticut. The Crescent Beach records include advertising for the Crescent Beach community, house specifications, and clippings regarding Crescent Beach. The bulk of the collection includes blueprints, maps, and architectural drawings for the homes built at Crescent Beach Land Company, which was headed by Joseph T. Cruttenden and which oversaw the development of the commuity. Blueprints and specifications for approximately three other homes in Niantic, Connecticut, are also included. The blueprints and drawings are currently unprocessed.

The personal papers are composed primarily of correspondence detailing the advertisement and sale of yachts, launches, life boats and other small vessels, vessel specifications, and advertisements for boating equipment, and clippings regarding yachting. This portion of the collection seems to have been part of private transactions and not part of a yacht brokering business. Also included in this portion of the collection are letters and invoices that do not pertain to yacht sales, but appear to be part of personal transactions or papers, including a World War I era pamphlet on water safety.