Mystic Seaport is actually several museums in one. Most fascinating (after the tall ships) is its aspect as a restored or "re-imagined" 19th-century Connecticut shoreline village.

Historic buildings from various locations were brought here to the former Greenman Brothers' shipyard and positioned to resemble a living town. You really can get a sense of what it was like to walk through 19th-century Mystic here.

Mystic River Scale Model
Perhaps the best place to start is the 1/128th scale model of Mystic, with over 250 tiny buildings bringing to life the town and the Greenman Brothers' shipyard (site of Mystic Seaport) between 1850 and 1870.

You can see the clipper ship David Crockett under construction, and all the other details of life at that time. Look for the 50-foot scale model at the north end of the Village Green not far from the Visitor Center.

Shops Along Middle Wharf
Each of the shops facing Middle Wharf, next to the Charles W Morgan, has exhibits:

—The Shipsmith Shop is the only surviving 19th-century whalers' ironwork shop, where the tools and weapons of the whaling trade were made.

—The Nautical Instrument Shop holds the tools of navigation.

—The Hoop Shop and Shipcarver's Shop show how necessary goods were made from iron and wood.

—The Print Shop, Drug Store, Bank, Chapel, General Store and School House were fixtures of any busy 19th-century town.

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