Mystic Bridge Historic District | |
Location | U.S. 1 and CT 27, Mystic, Connecticut |
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Coordinates | 41°21′25″N71°57′51″W / 41.35694°N 71.96417°W |
Area | 155 acres (63 ha) |
Built | 1840 |
Architect | Amos Clift, III; Multiple |
Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne |
NRHP reference No. | 79002671 [1] |
Added to NRHP | August 31, 1979 |
The Mystic Bridge Historic District is a historic district in the village of Mystic, Connecticut on the Stonington side of the Mystic River. It includes the Mystic Seaport Museum, whose grounds and floating vessels represent the area's history, and the 1924 Mystic River Bascule Bridge. The district is significant as a well-preserved shipbuilding and maritime village of the 19th and early 20th centuries, [2] and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. [1]
Mystic developed in the early 19th century as a small seaport and shipbuilding center, businesses that were mostly located on the eastern shore of the Mystic River. The village is divided between the towns of Stonington and Groton, Connecticut.
Brothers George, Clark, and Thomas Greenman founded the George Greenman & Co. shipyard and built their Greek Revival style houses on the grounds. Their shipyard was one of the village's largest, and now serves as the grounds of the Mystic Seaport Museum. The museum still uses some of the buildings for their original purposes. This section of Mystic became known as "Greenmanville", as the brothers owned and operated the shipyard, a textile mill, and a company store. They also managed nearby farms and rented out housing to their workers. The Greenmans were Seventh Day Baptists, celebrating the Sabbath on Saturday, and the shipyard's schedule reflected that. The industrial village prospered from the 1840s to the 1890s, after which it declined, as wooden ships gave way to those built of iron and steel. [2] [3]
New London County is in the southeastern corner of Connecticut and comprises the Norwich-New London, Connecticut Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut Combined Statistical Area. There is no county government and no county seat, as is the case with all eight of Connecticut's counties; towns are responsible for all local government activities, including fire and rescue, snow removal, and schools.
Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton and Stonington, Connecticut.
Noank is a village in the town of Groton, Connecticut. This dense community of historic homes and local businesses sits on a small, steep peninsula at the mouth of the Mystic River with a long tradition of fishing, lobstering and boat-building. The village is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places and is the home of multiple seaside lobster shacks and oyster aquaculture operations. The population was 1,796 at the 2010 census.
North Stonington is a town in New London County, Connecticut which was split off from Stonington in 1724. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 5,149 at the 2020 census.
Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the crafts and fabric of an entire 19th-century seaport village. It consists of more than 60 historic buildings, most of them rare commercial structures moved to the 19-acre (0.077 km2) site and meticulously restored.
Stonington is a town located in New London County, Connecticut. The municipal limits of the town include the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and Wequetequock, and the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic. Stonington is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population of the town was 18,335 at the 2020 census.
Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is located in Groton, and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer is also a major employer. Avery Point in Groton is home to a regional campus of the University of Connecticut. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 38,411 at the 2020 census.
The Mystic River Bascule Bridge is a bascule bridge spanning the Mystic River in Mystic, Connecticut in the United States. It carries vehicle and foot traffic directly into the tourist district of town via 33 ft-wide (10 m) Main Street.
Charles W. Morgan is an American whaling ship built in 1841 that was active during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Ships of this type were used to harvest the blubber of whales for whale oil which was commonly used in lamps. Charles W. Morgan has served as a museum ship since the 1940s and is now an exhibit at the Mystic Seaport museum in Mystic, Connecticut. She is the world's oldest surviving (non-wrecked) merchant vessel, the only surviving wooden whaling ship from the 19th century American merchant fleet, and second to the USS Constitution, the oldest seaworthy vessel in the world. The Morgan was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
The Mystic River is a 3.4-mile-long (5.5 km) estuary in the southeast corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. Its main tributary is Whitford Brook. It empties into Fishers Island Sound, dividing the village of Mystic, Connecticut between the towns of Groton and Stonington. Much of the river is tidal. The Mystic River was the location of three large shipbuilding firms during the 19th-century, and it is now the home of the Mystic Seaport maritime museum. The name Mystic is derived from the Pequot term "missi-tuk", describing a large river whose waters are driven into waves by tides or wind, according to the Mystic River Historical Society.
The Mechanic Street Historic District encompasses a historic 19th-century mill and mill village in a 14-block area of the Pawcatuck section of Stonington, Connecticut. Extending along the Pawcatuck River and south of West Broad Street, the area includes a large brick mill complex on the banks of the river, and a neighborhood of well-preserved worker housing on the road grid to its west. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Sabino is a small wooden, coal-fired steamboat built in 1908 and located at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. It is one of only two surviving members of the American mosquito fleet, and it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1992. It is America's oldest regularly operating coal-powered steamboat.
Wyoming is a village and census-designated place on the Wood River in southern Rhode Island, primarily in the town of Richmond, Rhode Island, but extending north across the river into the town of Hopkinton, Rhode Island. The population was 270 at the 2010 census. It is the site of the Wyoming Village Historic District and a post office assigned ZIP code 02898.
The Noank Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic main part of the village of Noank in the town of Groton, Connecticut. The district contains a distinctive assortment of mid-to-late 19th-century residential architecture that is notable for its often picturesque woodwork. At the time of their construction, the village was primarily a worker village for nearby shipyards. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The North Stonington Village Historic District is a 105-acre (42 ha) historic district encompassing the historic center of the main village of North Stonington, Connecticut. The district includes a well-preserved small industrial village, which flourished in the years before the American Civil War, and declined afterward. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Mystic River Historic District encompasses the part of the village of Mystic, Connecticut that is on the Groton side of the Mystic River. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 24, 1979, approximately 235-acre (95 ha) which includes much of the village of West Mystic and many buildings from the 19th century.
The Rossie Velvet Mill Historic District is located in the village of Mystic in Stonington, Connecticut. Its main focus is the former Rossie Velvet Mill, a large brick industrial facility on the east side of Greenmanville Avenue that is now a research center for the nearby Mystic Seaport Museum. The district extends along Greenmanville Avenue between Pleasant Street in the north and the museum complex in the south. Most of the buildings in the district are residential housing built to house workers at the mill, and were built between about 1850 and 1950. The district includes 51 properties in 120 acres (49 ha). The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 9, 2007.
The Mystic River Railroad Bridge is a railroad bridge carrying Amtrak's Northeast Corridor over the Mystic River in Mystic, Connecticut, between the towns of Groton and Stonington.
The Mystic Bank is a historic commercial building at 39 Main Street in the Old Mystic village of Stonington, Connecticut. Built in 1856 for a bank founded in 1833, it was used by the town as a meeting hall after the bank closed in 1884, and now houses offices. It is a good example of a small 19th-century Greek Revival brick bank building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.