Capt. William Clift House (1838)

At 193 High Street in Mystic stands a house that began as a Greek Revival-style three-bay gable-front home, but was much expanded in later years with large Queen Anne-style addition with a tower. The early section of the house was built in 1838 by Captain William Clift (1805-1882), a Mystic ship captain. The house stayed in the Clift family until 1918 and in 1939 it was deeded to the Mystic Home. Since 1976, it has been owned by Noank Baptist Group Homes. Called High Street House, it provides therapeutic services for six young women, ages 14-18, who are transitioning back to their families from more secure facilities.

13 West Mystic Avenue, Mystic (1840)

The Greek Revival house at 13 West Mystic Avenue in Mystic was built in 1840 by the Chapman family. From 1956 to 1961, it was the home of Captain (later Admiral) James F. Calvert, who commanded the USS Skate, the third US nuclear submarine to be commissioned and the second submarine to reach the North Pole. Skate first went under the polar ice cap on August 11, 1958, but the thickness of the ice prevented it from surfacing. Skate later became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole on 17 March 1959.

Captain William E. Wheeler House (1853)

Built in 1853, the Captain William E. Wheeler House is an Italianate residence at 159 High Street in Mystic. According to A Modern History of New London County, Connecticut, Volume 3 (1922):

William E. Wheeler, born at Stonington, went to sea on a sailing vessel, later on whaling vessels, and still later on coasting vessels, sailing from New York to southern United States ports. In 1854, he went into the East India trade, sailing from New York to China for A. A. Lowe & Brothers on the barque “Penguin.” In 1865 he ran a steamer from New York to southern ports. He was a member of the State Legislature, and very prominent as a Democrat. He married, in Groton, August 24, 1831, Pedee Heath, of Groton, and they became the parents of four children

As related in Groton, Conn. 1705-1905, by Charles R. Stark:

William E. Wheeler, [State representative in] 1873 and 1875, was a sea captain sailing in the employ of A. A. Low & Co. in the China tea trade and was afterwards in the general store business in Mystic. He died in 1889.