Mystic and its famous nearby seaport is currently the most popular destination for tourists in Connecticut. The town is a wonderful place to visit with its village-like streets. Mystic is perhaps most famous for Mystic Pizza, which is located at 56 West Main Street. This is the pizza parlor that inspired the movie Mystic Pizza, which brought fame not only to the restaurant itself as well as the village, but also to budding movie star, Julia Roberts.[1]
Mystic’s main attraction, however, is the Mystic Seaport, a maritime museum. In its heyday back in the mid-19th century, Mystic Seaport was both a shipbuilding center and a whaling port. Clipper ships used to be the town’s specialty. Today, while the village streets are still lined with the homes of ship captains, the glory days of Mystic are long gone, only to be relived at Mystic Seaport where the history of the seafaring community is laid bare. This maritime museum is located by the Mystic River and covers 17 acres of land where more than 60 buildings are erected and 400 small watercrafts and four large vessels remain docked as living monuments. There is also a working shipyard, the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard where visitors can see firsthand skilled craftsmen working to restore the museum’s ships.[2]
The focus of the museum is the village green. Across from it, there are a number of shops that are similar in nature to those lined originally along the waterfront. Among them, you’ll find a tavern, bank, drug store, doctor’s office, typical home and garden, shipping office, a ship’s chandlery, a cooperage where barrels and casks are constructed, a shipcarver’s shop with woodcarving samples, printing demonstrations from the Mystic Press, a ropewalk where rope used to be made, a shipsmith with iron-working samples, a rigging loft with displays of rigging gear, and a sail loft with exhibits of 1880s sailmaking.[3]
In the museum’s collection of ships, the Charles W. Morgan is the grandest of them all. This three-masted whaling ship was built in 1840 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Morgan’s history consists of 80 years and 37 voyages that ranged from as long as five years and as short as nine months in length. She used to cruise the South Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. In total, the Morgan hauled approximately 152,900 of whalebone and 54,480 barrels of oil. Her crews numbered over 30 men per voyage. Today, the Charles Morgan is on display at Mystic Seaport, completely restored and open for public visits. People who tour it can still smell the thick smoke fuming out of the tryworks where blubber was converted into oil. You can also still see the platform where piles of blubber were peeled away as well as the “blubber room” where the pieces were cut into smaller fragments and fitted into the pots. The other exhibits include the galley, the crew’s quarters, the officer’s quarters, the officer’s mess, and the wheelhouse – all of them restored to original condition.[4]
Mystic Seaport is not just a round museum. It also sponsors several tours, special events, and festivals throughout the year. Many of them are both fun and educational. The events typically include food, demonstrations, parades, and festivities. The most eagerly anticipated are Lobsterfest and Decoration Day, which takes places on Memorial Day weekend. Lobsterfest involves New England lobster bake prepared and served by the banks of the Mystic River during which chanteyman sing merry songs about the sea. In July, there’s a classic boat and antiques rendezvous; in September a photo weekend and fish fry. The event, however, that draws the biggest crowds is just before Christmas. In early December, the Lantern Light Tours and Yuletide Tours are held for more than two weeks. The Yuletide Tours is a one-hour guided walk through the village and historic ships. The tour explains the traditions on the sea and shore during the 19th century on Christmas. Accompanied by music, stories are told and gingerbread served. The Lantern Light Tours, on the other hand, is a recreation of a typical Victorian Christmas. Located at 50 Greenmanville Avenue off of Route 27, guides for the tour play the role of characters who lived in the 19th century, dressing up in costumes and retelling stories, speeches, and histories. Both the young and old will enjoy it.[5]
The G.W. Blunt White Library is another of Mystic’s gem. This library boasts a collection of over 60,000 books and periodicals, 7,000 charts and maps, 500,000 manuscripts, and an archive of oral history tapes. This is the library where maritime scholars from all over the world come to do their research. The building has several classrooms that are used for seaport programs.[6]
References:
Chase, Suzi Forbes, and Ann Lee. New England. New York: Macmillan General Reference, 1994. ISBN: 0671878999.
[1] Chase, 183
[2] Id. at 182
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id. at 182-83
[6] Id. at 182
|
