Connecticut's Mystic Seaport: A Photo Essay

Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut is a beautiful historic tribute to the whaling days of days gone by. The Seaport is a living museum based on a 19th-century coastal village. Mystic Seaport's historical interpreters are living in the year 1876. They stroll the grounds of the seaport, demonstrate maritime occupations and skills, perform sea shanties on the town green, and get children to take part in many childhood games of the period. There are a few streets that have replicas of shops and homes, a chapel, a church and an old schoolhouse, as well as the tavern in the center of town. There are exhibits halls that tell of America's Maritime heritage, including sailors of this century. Visitors old and young can board maritime vessels to see what it was like to be a crew member of a whaling ship in the 19th century. They can also climb aboard the Charles W. Morgan and watch the restoration of the oldest wooden whaling ship in America.

Activities for Children

I grew up about 25 minutes driving distance from Mystic Seaport. It was one of those tourist attractions that people brought visiting out-of-state friends and relatives whenever they came to visit. It is an especially entertaining destination for children because they can take part in hands-on, entertaining activities and being so small can easily maneuver around the nooks and crannies in the old whaling ships that are open to the public. In the summer months, there are outdoor plays in which children from the audience are chosen to participate. There is a children's museum as well as an activity room, and an outdoor playground with a wooden boat that children can climb on. The Mystic Seaport is a popular place for local schools to take students on field trips, for homeschooling groups to visit, and Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops often take outings there as well.

Holidays at Mystic Seaport

At Christmas, there are tours called, "Lantern Light Tours" which take place after dark and participants are transported to various spots around the village to experience life the way it was on Christmas Eve in the late 1880s. They carriage stops at one house where the family (actor) are gathered around the fireplace in the main living area and stories are told of Christmases past. Another stop is at the town tavern where each guest can have a refreshment of some sort and a fiddler is playing and all the guests are taught a dance of the time period and encouraged to participate. It's a wonderful experience. On Memorial Day each year, visitors to the Seaport can participate in a church service and then follow a wagon filled with flowers followed by actors in period costume down to the waterfront. A proclamation is given about Memorial Day and honoring all of those who have given their lives for their country, and then each person is invited to take a sprig of flowers off the wagon and throw it into the Mystic River in honor of someone they knew who died in a war. It's a very meaningful experience.

The Beauty of Mystic Seaport

This photo essay shows not only the village but the beauty of a coastal town from that period. Mystic Seaport is an enchanting place to visit, even without stopping at all the exhibits. Because of it's proximity to water, it is a peaceful place to sit on a bench and catch the cool breezes coming off the river, and escape for a day, or just an hour or two, to a peaceful and scenic village of yesteryear.