The Mystic River Historic District encompasses the part of the village of Mystic, Connecticut that is on the Groton side of the

Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to t ...

. The district was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on August 24, 1979, approximately that includes much of the village now known as West Mystic and many buildings from the 19th century. The historic district includes properties along

Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered ...

, West Mystic Avenue, Route 215, High Street, Pearl Street, and Cliff Street. Mystic Pizza is located in the district, made famous by the movie of the same name. According to the 1979 National Register nomination, the importance of the district is derived "from the completeness of the 19th-century community here preserved. Seldom are houses, public buildings, stores, and factories of a 19th century town ''all'' in place, in good condition, and still in use, as they are in Mystic. The variety of architectural styles that the prosperous seafaring citizens employed in building up their community provide fine examples of the ongoing, 19th-century development of taste and design." The district's boundaries are similar to those of a local historic district that was designated in 1974, but it includes some more modern structures than were included in the local designation, and its boundary lines are less irregular. It includes the former train depot of West Mystic. In 1978, the district included about 470 sites and structures, of which 265 were houses built in

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

, Italianate, or Queen Anne architectural styles that were popular during the 19th century. and Two historic sites in the district are: * site of Fort Rachel where a single 12-pounder cannon repulsed British attack on Mystic in 1814 * site of the

Mystic massacre The Mystic massacrealso known as the Pequot massacre and the Battle of Mystic Forttook place on May 26, 1637 during the Pequot War, when Connecticut colonizers under Captain John Mason and their Narragansett and Mohegan allies set fire to the ...

of Pequot Indians in 1637, location not precisely known

Pictures of Mystic River Historic District

Image:MysticTown.JPG, ''The Groton part of downtown Mystic.'' File:Pizza parlor in Mystic, Connecticut.JPG, ''Tourists look into the famous pizza parlor in Mystic.'' Image:Coffeeshop in Mystic.JPG, ''A coffeeshop along Main Street in Mystic.''

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Groton, Connecticut Villages in Connecticut Historic districts in New London County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

See also

Pictures of Mystic River Historic District

References