Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Mystic

Whitehall Mansion (1771)

The earliest structure built on the original site of Whitehall Mansion, located in the section of Mystic which is in the town of Stonington, was constructed around 1680 by Lt. William Gallup. A tavern and stagecoach stop stood on the site in the 1750s. Whitehall Mansion, named after an ancestor’s home, Whight House, in Essex, England, was built in 1771-1775 by Dr. Dudley Woodbridge (who, in his youth, had made an interesting sketch of buildings in Deerfield, Massachusetts). A secret room in the attic may have housed runaway slaves. Dr, Woodbridge died in 1790 and the house was later owned by the Rodman and Wheeler families. The Mansion‘s last resident, Florence Grace Keach, donated the house to the Stonington Historical Society in 1962 in order to save it from demolition when Interstate-95 was being constructed. The house was moved approximately one hundred yards north and restored. For a time, it was open for tours, but was purchased by the Waterford Hotel Group in 1996 and is now the Whitehall Mansion Inn.

Langworthy-Allyn House (1820)

Adjacent to the George Greenman House, on Greenmanville Avenue in Mystic, is an earlier house, possibly built around 1820, which was acquired by the Greenman brothers in 1837. The brothers resided in the house as they set up the George Greenman & Co. shipyard, eventually moving to the Greenman House, when it was built in 1839. Around 1849, the older house was raised an additional floor and a new two-story ell was added. For a half-century, it became a boarding house for workers at the shipyard and was run by the ship joiner David Langworthy and his wife, Fanny. From 1931 to 1974, the house was owned by the Allyn family. It is now owned by Mystic Seaport.

George Greenman House (1839)

George Greenman was the eldest of three brothers who founded the shipyard in Mystic known as George Greenman & Co. His house on Greenmanville Avenue was built in 1839 and was enlarged and further ornamented later in the nineteenth century. Greenman’s brothers initially resided in the house with him, until they built their own homes nearby on Greenmanville Avenue. The Greenman home is reported to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. The Mystic Seaport living history museum acquired the house from George Greenman‘s great-granddaughter in 1970. The house has a Historic Structures Report.

Edgecomb-Gates House (1835)

The house at 15 Gravel Street in Mystic was built around 1835 by Daniel D. Edgecomb, a carpenter who made coffins in his basement workshop. In 1847, the house was acquired by Captain Gurdon Gates, who added the intricately detailed porch. The oldest of four brothers, who all became sea captains, Gurdon Gates was known for his record run in 1866 around the Horn in the clipper ship, Twilight. He also commanded other ships, including the steamship, Victor, during the Civil War. After his retirement from the sea, he was involved in business and politics, serving in the Connecticut Assembly. Gravel Street was known as “Captain’s Walk” because all of the homes there but one once belonged to sea captains.

Lyman Dudley House (1810)

On New London Road in Mystic is a house built by Capt. Jonathan Wheeler in 1810. In 1829, the house was acquired by Lyman Dudley, a blacksmith who built a foundry across the street. Perhaps it was when Dudley owned the house that it was modified in the Greek Revival style. A bay window on the side was also added later in the nineteenth century.

Albert G. Stark House (1850)

Albert G. Stark, a businessman who owned a general store, built an Octagon house on West Mystic Avenue in 1850, adjacent to the home of his brother, the ship captain, Henry S. Stark. Albert died at age 29 and his widow remained in the house and eventually remarried.

Capt. Henry S. Stark House (1852)

The 1852 Italianate home of Capt. Henry S. Stark and his wife, Mary Rathbun Stark, is on West Mystic Avenue in Mystic. Mary Stark supervised the construction because her husband, a ship captain, was in command of a bark voyaging to Italy. The avenue was called Skipper Lane because many ship captains built homes there. Capt. Stark also made voyages to Mexico and Hawaii. His wife accompanied him on his voyage to Honolulu from 1854 to 1856 on the clipper ship B.F. Hoxie. Mary Stark wrote a series of letters during the voyage, many to her daughter, Lizzie Stark, describing her experiences.