Mystic Seaport, Maritime museum in Mystic, Connecticut, United States
Mystic Seaport is a maritime museum on 19 acres along the Mystic River in Connecticut, with more than 60 historic buildings moved to the site and a collection of ships and boats. Its Preservation Shipyard maintains vessels such as the 1841 wooden whaling ship Charles W. Morgan, and the re-created 19th-century village includes a chandlery, sail loft, ropewalk and cooperage.
The Marine Historical Association was established in 1929; philanthropist Mary Stillman Harkness, granddaughter of shipbuilder Thomas Stillman Greenman, donated land that had belonged to her grandfather, and in 1945 gave his house as well. The museum became one of the first living history museums in the United States and gained fame with its 1941 acquisition of the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan. In 1955 Harvard professor Robert G. Albion set up the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime Studies.
The recreated coastal village includes working craft shops where artisans demonstrate traditional boatbuilding methods. Visitors can watch sailmaking and learn how seafaring families lived and worked along the New England coast.
The museum is located on Greenmanville Avenue and opens Thursday through Sunday with guided tours and educational programs for all ages. Visitors should plan several hours to explore the ships, craft shops, and exhibition spaces.
The shipyard keeps more than 100,000 ship drawings and plans in its archive, and the replica of La Amistad was built and launched there in 2000. The Charles W. Morgan, built in 1841, sailed on its 38th voyage to Boston in 2014.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,644 contributors worldwide.
