Old Mystic Inn (1784)

John Denison (1716-1808) and his son Nathan (born 1759) were both hatters in Old Mystic. John bought land from Samuel Williams in 1783 and then sold it to Nathan in 1785, by which time the house that exists today at 52 Main Street had most likely been built, along with their hatters shop. In 1787, Nathan Denison sold the property to his brother-in-law John Baldwin (1752-1814). The property had two other owners in the next decade and was acquired by Nicholas Williams (1770-1802) in 1799. His widow, Lucretia Hempstead Williams (1776-1851) willed the property to ten people, with six people getting shares in the house. The house has had many owners over the years. In the 1930s, it was owned by the Williams family, who owned a general store across the street from 1875 to 1967. Charles Vincent bought the property in 1959 and ran the Old Mystic Book Shop in the house until 1986. Since 1987 the house has been a bed-and-breakfast called the Old Mystic Inn. In 1988 a carriage house was added to the property, doubling the number of guest rooms.