Mystic Seaport opens a door to historic Connecticut
Recently, ROAD & TRAVEL Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Courtney Caldwell, took her grandsons on an adventure — a good old-fashioned road trip where they explored a variety of locations including Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport. ___________________________________________
by Courtney Caldwell
After leaving NY, and encountering a minor altercation with a ‘lady’ construction worker, who didn’t disappoint with her world-class performance of the reputed New York attitude, sailor mouth and hand gestures included, we headed north to New England. Along Connecticut’s winding coastline we stopped in Mystic Seaport and entered the world of the 18 th century whaling and shipping community. I took my own children there in the 70s and had fond memories of that tour but when we arrived much had changed. The village had been upgraded, the ships were fewer than I recall, and some of the historical outdoor displays were gone, probably ruined and rotted from the salt air exposure. But not all was lost.
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Charles W. Morgan whaling ship |
The one thing that stood out in Mystic was the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship, which had been built in 1841 and stood as the last remaining whale hunting ship in the U.S. During our tour of the ship, we learned all about the history of how men lived at sea for up to four years at a time chasing and harpooning whales for their blubber and oil. They usually returned with about 1200 gallons of oil, about 33 barrels, some of which was used for making perfume. The blubber retrieved from whales was boiled into liquid in iron stoves in the center of the ship’s deck, and then placed in oak barrels for storage.
The conditions on whaling ships 200 years ago were unimaginable with 25 men sleeping in what seemed like appeared to be large wooden crates stacked in rows of three and shoved tightly below the narrow bow of the ship. There was no lighting of any kind, no ventilation, and of course no bathing facilities. We could only imagine the stench of these whalers after years of living together in these conditions as the smell of whale blood and guts saturated their clothes and skin.
The captain, on the other hand, was appointed a lovely spacious cabin at the rear of the ship, where the girth was wider. It had a lovely sitting room for reading and relaxing, and where his wife would stay during the years at sea. Being the only female aboard, she was given her own privately enclosed ‘outhouse’ which was positioned on deck for the purpose of ventilation. Shipmates were not allowed to use it and with no other facilities aboard the crew had to use the sea for the process of elimination.
In addition to the ship tour, there’s a small historical town with buildings of the day dotting the coastline community as if it were frozen in time. There are several ways to tour the village including a horse drawn carriage or just simply taking a stroll. There are also water taxis, which takes tourists for a tour along the shoreline of the Mystic River or if you prefer to go at your own pace, you may rent a boat cruise the quaint New England town at your own leisure, stopping when and where you want.
Most of the shops represent the 18th century lifestyle with local actors portraying characters from the past dressed in period clothing, performing the duties of the day and speaking the King’s English. There’s even a working presentation shipyard that still builds and restores ships the way it was done hundreds of years ago. Mystic is rich with history for all generations, and a great stop when traveling with kids along the I-95 North corridor between New York and New England. [READ MORE OF ROAD TRIP REVIEW]
If You Go...
Mystic Seaport, Connecticut
75 Greenmanville Avenue
Mystic, CT 06355-0990
(888) 973-2767
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