Mystic, Connecticut

Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton and Stonington, Connecticut.

Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in 1784. Mystic Seaport, located in the village, is the largest maritime museum in the United States and has preserved a number of sailing ships, such as the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan. The village is located on the Mystic River which flows into Fishers Island Sound. The Mystic River Bascule Bridge crosses the river in the center of the village. 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. The population was 4,348 at the 2020 census.

History

thumb|[Mystic River and Mystic Bridge, Connecticut (1879)

Before the 17th century, the Pequot people lived in this portion of southeastern Connecticut. They were in control of a considerable amount of territory, extending toward the Pawcatuck River to the east and the Connecticut River to the west.

To the northwest, the Five Nations of the Iroquois dominated the land linked by the Great Lakes and the Hudson River, allowing trading to occur between the Iroquois and the Dutch. The Pequots were settled just distant enough to be secure from any danger that the Iroquois posed. The Pequot War profoundly affected the Mystic area between 1636 and 1638. In May 1637, captains John Underhill and John Mason led a mission through Narragansett land, along with their allies the Narragansetts and Mohegans, and struck the Pequot Indian settlement in Mystic in the event which came to be known as the Mystic massacre. On September 21, 1638, the colonists signed the Treaty of Hartford, officially ending the Pequot War.

English settlement

Pequot control of the Mystic area ended after the Pequot War, and English settlements increased. By the 1640s, Connecticut Colony began to grant land to the Pequot War veterans. John Winthrop the Younger was among those to receive property, much of which was in southeastern Connecticut. Other early settlers in the Mystic area included Robert Burrows and George Denison, who held land in the Mystic River Valley.

Settlement grew slowly. The Connecticut government and Massachusetts Bay government began to quarrel over boundaries, thus causing some conflicting claims concerning governmental authority between the Mystic River and the Pawcatuck River. In the 1640s and 1650s, "Connecticut" referred to settlements located along the Connecticut River, as well as its claims in other parts of the region. Massachusetts Bay, however, claimed to have authority over Stonington and even into Rhode Island.

Connecticut did not have a royal charter that separated it from the Massachusetts Bay Colony; the Connecticut General Court was formed by leaders of the settlements. The General Court claimed rule of the area by right of conquest, but the Massachusetts Bay Colony saw matters differently. The Bay Colony had contributed to the war by sending a militia under captains John Underhill and Thomas Stoughton, which they argued gave territorial rights and authority to the Massachusetts Bay Colony rather than the Connecticut Court.]]

Throughout the next decade, colonists were beginning to settle around the Mystic River. John Mason was one of the captains who led the colonists against the Pequots, and he had been granted on the eastern banks of the Mystic River. He also received the island that bears his name, though he never lived on the property. In 1653, John Gallup Jr. was given approximately midway up the east part of the Mystic River.

Within the same year, others joined John Gallup and began to settle around the Mystic River. George Denison, a veteran of Oliver Cromwell's army, was given his own strip of just south of Gallup's land in 1654. Thomas Miner had immigrated to Massachusetts with John Winthrop and was granted many land plots, the main one lying on Quiambaug Cove, just east of the Mystic River. The village is on the east and west bank of the estuary of the Mystic River. Mason's Island (Pequot language: Chippachaug) fills the south end of the estuary. Most of the bedrock of Mystic is "gneissic, crystalline terrane extending from eastern Massachusetts through western Rhode Island and across southeastern Connecticut north of Long Island Sound," according to geologist Richard Goldsmith.

Tourism

thumb|right|[[Mystic River Bascule Bridge being raised]]

The village is a major New England tourist destination. It is home to the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, known for its research department, concern with marine life rehabilitation, and its popular beluga whales. The business district contains many restaurants on either side of the bascule bridge where U.S. Route 1 crosses the Mystic River. Local sailing cruises are available on the traditional sailing ship Argia. Short day tours and longer evening cruises are available on the 1908 steamer Sabino departing Mystic Seaport.

Mystic Seaport is the nation's leading maritime museum and one of the premier maritime museums in the world, founded in 1929. It is the home of four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, the oldest merchant vessel in the country. The museum's collections and exhibits include over 500 historic watercraft, a major research library, a large gallery of maritime art, a unique diorama displaying the town of Mystic as it was in the 19th century, a working ship restoration shipyard, a planetarium, and a recreation of a 19th-century seafaring village.

Mystic Museum of Art at 9 Water Street features works by members of the Mystic Art Colony along with other contemporary American art. The 2013 Moondance International Film Festival was held in Mystic.

The town is located near Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, two prominent Native American operated integrated resorts.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Mystic had a population of 4,348. The median age was 58.0 years. 10.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 37.4% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males age 18 and over.

According to the 2020 census, 99.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.3% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,982 households, of which 15.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.0% were married-couple households, 22.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 44.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2000, there were 4,001 people, 1,797 households, and 995 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,988 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.8% White, 0.8% African American, 0.4% American Indian, 1.3% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander (i.e. 1 person), 0.3% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races.

There were 1,797 households, out of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.6% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 16.7% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $62,236, and the median income for a family was $70,625. Males had a median income of $50,036 versus $32,400 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $33,376. About 1.6% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Mystic is a census-designated place (CDP) that spans the towns of Groton and Stonington, Connecticut. It is not a municipality in the state of Connecticut, and so it has no independent government.

Transportation

thumb|[[Mystic station (Connecticut)|Mystic Amtrak station is served by the Northeast Regional]]

Amtrak stops at the Mystic station. Bus service is provided by Southeast Area Transit. Groton-New London Airport serves private and chartered flights to the area.

Education

The portion in Stonington Town is in Stonington School District while the portion in Groton Town is in Groton School District.

Notable people

Mary Jobe Akeley, naturalist
Matt Harvey, former Major League Baseball pitcher
Sam Lacy, sportswriter
Stephen Macht, actor
Paul Menhart, former Major League Baseball pitcher
Asa Packer, railroad pioneer
Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General, Tennessee
William Ledyard Stark, Nebraska politician
George Henry Strohsahl Jr., Rear Admiral, United States Navy

In popular culture

thumb|Mystic Pizza

The title of the film Mystic Pizza was inspired by a pizza shop in Mystic. Screenwriter Amy Holden Jones spent summers in the area and chose the Mystic Pizza restaurant as the focus of her story about the lives of three young waitresses.

In 1997, Steven Spielberg shot various scenes for the film Amistad at Mystic Seaport. One commercial was filmed in 2005 at Mystic Seaport for FedEx. It was based on the lobster business in New England. The commercial was aired during the Orange Bowl.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce
See Mystic CT