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. Other families granted land were Reverend Robert Blinman, the Beebe brothers, Thomas Parke, and Connecticut Governor John Hayne. Not all these men actually lived on their land. Many sold it to profit from or employed an overseer to cultivate their property. Many men, however, actually brought their wives and children, which indicated their plans on forming a community in the Mystic River Valley. There was one recorded case of a woman who did not come to the Mystic River Valley as a wife. Widow Margaret Lake received a grant from the Massachusetts Bay authority and was the only woman to receive a land grant in her own name. She also did not live on her land but hired other people to maintain it. She took up residence in Lakes Pond. Her daughter was married to John Gallup, while her sister was married to Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop. By 1675, settlement had grown tremendously in the Mystic River Valley, and infrastructure was beginning to appear as well as an economy. The Pequot Trail was used as a main highway to get around the Mystic River and played a vital role in the settlers' lives, allowing them to transport livestock, crops, furs, and other equipment to and from their farm lands. However, those families living on the east side of the Mystic River were unable to make any use of the Pequot Trail. As early as 1660, Robert Burrows was authorized to institute a ferry somewhere along the middle of the river's length. This earned his home the name of "Half-way House". The Pequot Trail also connected the settlers to their church. Stonington residents found it difficult to attend church in Mystic or Groton, and this led to the creation of their own church. The town of Stonington was then established as separate from Mystic in regards to church attendance and was granted leave to build a church of their own. The building became known as the Road Church. Colonists began public schools in this area around 1679, and John Fish became the first schoolmaster in Stonington, conducting classes and lessons in his home. Education was a very important thing to the New England colonists, enabling children and servants to learn literacy skills. Most families throughout New England had six or more children in each household, giving Fish plenty of students.
18th century By the first decade of the 18th century, three villages had begun to develop along the Mystic River. The largest village was called Mystic (
Old Mystic), also known as the Head of the River because it lay where several creeks united into the Mystic River estuary. Two villages lay farther down the river. One was called Stonington and was considered to be Lower Mystic, consisting of twelve houses by the early 19th century. These twelve houses lay along Willow Street, which ended at the ferry landing. This became the Stonington side of the village of Mystic. On the opposite bank of the river in the town of
Groton stood the village that became known as
Portersville. This is the Groton side of the village of Mystic.
National Register of Historic Places Mystic has three
historic districts: the
Mystic Bridge Historic District around U.S. Route 1 and Route 27,
Rossie Velvet Mill Historic District between Pleasant Street and Bruggeman Place, and the
Mystic River Historic District around U.S. Route 1 and Route 215. Other historic sites in Mystic are: •
Joseph Conrad (ship) at Mystic Seaport Museum •
Charles W. Morgan (ship) at Mystic Seaport Museum •
Emma C. Berry (sloop) at Mystic Seaport Museum •
L. A. Dunton (schooner) at Mystic Seaport Museum •
Pequotsepos Manor on Pequotsepos Road •
Sabino (steamer) at Mystic Seaport Museum ==Geography==