Welcome to the historically significant Maxson House nestled within the charming seaside New England village of Mystic, Connecticut. As our guest, you'll enjoy this entire privately owned residence and expansive property as your very own vacation rental home and coastal retreat. Rich with maritime heritage and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, our house dates from 1854 and was crafted by the distinguished master shipbuilder William Ellery Maxson.
Maxson House offers 4 comfortable bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Upstairs, the master bedroom features a king size bed, a walk-in closet, and a private bathroom with a shower. Our guest bedroom has a queen size bed, while a third nautical-themed bedroom includes two twin beds and a delightful book nook for children. The hall bathroom showcases an antique cast iron clawfoot bathtub along with a separate shower. The reading room on the first floor may also be utilized as a spare bedroom, as it is appointed with a twin daybed sofa with a pullout trundle. A half bathroom is located on the first floor as well.
Our well-stocked galley kitchen is equipped with everything you’ll need to prepare either a simple snack or a complete gourmet meal. Apart from providing your own fresh ingredients and beverages… you’ll find the kitchen generously appointed with a coffee & tea station, cookware, bakeware, dinnerware, glassware, drinkware, silverware, utensils, cutlery, appliances, essential spices, and much more.
You're invited to roam the spacious lawn & gardens of Maxson House. Over almost an entire acre you'll discover a babbling brook, mature trees, seasonal flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Our beautiful red brick patio is bordered by a formal privet hedge, ensuring privacy while you enjoy dining outdoors with friends and family... whether under the shade of market umbrellas during the day or the cozy glow of enchanting café lights at nighttime.
Foremost amongst a bountiful array of amenities is our highly desirable location. Maxson House is ideal for scenic walks and sightseeing in the heart of Mystic. You'll certainly benefit from our private motor court and lengthy driveway that allows ample space for parking... as plentiful shops, restaurants, and attractions are just a short and enjoyable stroll away. In fact, mere steps across Noank Road and practically in our backyard is Mystic Market West, the award-winning gourmet kitchen & eatery.
Original watercolor on cotton paper depicting Maxson House. Photo courtesy of MAXSON HOUSE, LLC.
Keeping the house cool during the warmer months are window air conditioning units placed in each bedroom and the dining room. Cast iron steam radiators grace our rooms with class and elegance, bringing warmth and comfort in the wintertime.
During the day, watch and wave as Amtrak's modern Acela and Northeast Regional trains quickly and efficiently whizz by. Kids and children at heart love the quaint crossing bells that routinely sound as a tangible connection to a bygone era. Passenger trains have continuously traversed this very same route since the earliest days of steam locomotives in the mid-19th century. Today's all-electric trains on the high-speed Northeast Corridor can be only subtly heard from time to time inside the house, and they do not run throughout the night.
Be mindful that Maxson House, situated in the Mystic River Historic District, is a property steeped in tradition. And, while we thoughtfully continue to invest in modern conveniences, many authentic attributes remain. Apart from a few reserved utility spaces (i.e. the butler's pantry, basement, attic, and garage), you’ll have free rein of the entire house and grounds during your stay.
You may occasionally notice our gardeners working diligently about the premises while they're tending to the lawn & gardens. Please do say hello to them if the opportunity arises. Also, over the course of your stay, you’ll most likely be corresponding directly with the well-regarded local firm of PMI East Lyme, as we have entrusted them to act as our exclusive property management and booking agents.
While you are at Maxson House, you're home!
With its two full stories, gables, and classical trim, Maxson House remains to this day as an outstanding period example of the modified Greek Revival architectural style that became fashionable in Mystic with the village's newly prosperous sea captains and merchants during the pre-Civil War era.
The National Register of Historic Places medallion affixed to Maxson House. Photo courtesy of MAXSON HOUSE, LLC.
Officially placed into the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 by the United States Department of the Interior, our historic district property on School Street is specifically recognized within the nomination form as a "Mid-19th Century. 2½-story, Greek Revival, three-bay house with horizontal flush boarding in the pediment." Furthermore, as the documentation states, "The mid-19th century popularity of the Greek Revival style coincided with Mystic's period of prosperity. The homes that remain from that era are the strength of the district."
William Ellery Maxson was born in Westerly, Rhode Island on November 18, 1818, to Silas and Elizabeth Stillman Maxson. Silas named his firstborn son after his close friend William Ellery, a Founding Father of the United States as one of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.
At the age of 16, Maxson began working as a protégé under his cousins George, Clark, and Thomas Greenman at their acclaimed shipyard located near present day Old Mystic. By the mid-19th century, he had risen to become a skilled designer and master shipbuilder in his own right.
Cabinet card portrait of William Ellery Maxson from the studio of Everett Augustus Scholfield. Circa 1866-1895. Colorized. Original photo courtesy of Mystic River Historical Society. | William Ellery Maxson standing amidst the citizens of Mystic, Connecticut. Circa 1866-1895. Original photo courtesy of Mystic River Historical Society. | Hand-painted wooden plaque affixed to Maxson House, honoring William E. Maxson. Photo courtesy of MAXSON HOUSE, LLC.
In company with several co-partners, he set up a new shipyard in 1853 along the banks of the Mystic River at Old Field on Willow Point. He soon established a homestead for his family on the 13 original acres of adjacent land that he had purchased from Captain Peter Forsyth, completing the construction of Maxson House in 1854.
By 1883, the year that he retired and sold his interest in the successor shipyard, Maxson was one of Mystic's most distinguished citizens and was widely known as one of the top ship designers in the country.
As noted on his Certificate of Death, Wm E Maxson succumbed to Erysipelas (St. Anthony's Fire) on December 12, 1895, at the age of 77 in West Mystic, Connecticut. His occupation was recorded as Ship Builder. Maxson was interred at the First Hopkinton Cemetery in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. He is laid to rest in the same burial plot as both of his wives, Elizabeth Moore Smith Maxson (1818-1848) and Sarah Maria Fenner Maxson (1825-1916), whom he married after Elizabeth's untimely passing. Maria, as she was known, recollected that they were joined in marriage on March 4, 1849, the day that Zachary Taylor was originally scheduled to be inaugurated President of the United States.
A hand-painted plaque affixed near our front doorway honors William E. Maxson's enduring legacy.
In 1853, along with his business partners, William Ellery Maxson founded a brand-new Mystic River shipyard. As president of the company, and with his name listed first on the deed, the yard was established as Maxson, Fish & Co. He would principally manage ship design and construction, while Captain Nathan Gallup Fish handled finances.
In the 1850's the era of the American clipper ship was at its zenith, and Mystic shipyards during that decade alone launched twenty-one ships of this type. The storied firm of Maxson, Fish & Co. would build and launch over thirty-five clipper ships, brigs, schooners, ironclad steamers, steam tugs, barks, and gunboats between 1853 and 1870. These included the wooden-hulled ironclad steamship USS Galena built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War and the three-masted clipper ship Dauntless.
Clipper ship Dauntless built by Maxson, Fish & Co. at Mystic River, Connecticut. Circa 1869-1883. Colorized. Original photo courtesy of Mystic Seaport Museum.
The heavily armed Galena was launched on February 14, 1862. Dauntless, launched on November 4, 1869, became the last full-rigged ship to be built in the esteemed 19th century shipyards of Mystic. It has often been said that she was the most beautiful ship ever built in Mystic.
With the death of Fish in 1870, ship building at the yard was suspended and remained idle until 1873 when Maxson formed yet another partnership with Alexander Irving to build small coasting vessels under the name of Maxson & Irving. That company would endure on Willow Point for another 10 years until Maxson's retirement.
Purpose-built for the New Haven, New London and Stonington Railroad (NHNL&S), William Ellery Maxson constructed the railroad depot at West Mystic for no charge in lieu of some very particular stipulations. It was originally located just across the street from our front walkway. The street itself was initially called Skipper Street, later Cherry Street, and is now dignified by the name West Mystic Avenue. Maxson fabricated the wooden building, conveniently placed near both his shipyard and his house, in exchange for at least one scheduled stop per day and the understanding that if anyone wanted to board a passing train, they only needed to flag it down and it would stop.
Moreover, on April 20, 1859, the actual strip of land to accommodate the new railroad depot was recorded as sold to the New Haven, New London and Stonington Railroad by William Ellery Maxson and his co-partners in Maxson, Fish & Co. -- namely, Captain Nathan Gallup Fish, Captain William Clift, William H. Barber, and Benjamin Franklin Hoxie.
West Mystic Station with a portion of Maxson House visible beyond a picket fence in the background. Circa 1915. Colorized. Original photo courtesy of Mystic Seaport Museum. | West Mystic School, Maxson House, and West Mystic Station from the Willow Point side of the School Street railroad crossing. Circa 1867-1891. Colorized. Original photo courtesy of Mystic River Historical Society.
Sitting directly opposite the focal point of West Mystic Station, Maxson House was periodically captured as well in some of the earliest known photographic images taken within the village.
The interior of the depot was divided in order to accommodate the grand opening of the West Mystic Post Office on April 16, 1890, with the railroad waiting room continuing to occupy half of the building. Incoming mailbags were heaved out of passing trains, while outgoing mail was snatched into the moving mail cars by a hook that plucked bags from a metal bracket placed beside the tracks.
Today, the depot building is still present, but it is now situated alongside the School Street crossing. The Great New England Hurricane of 1938, one of the most destructive hurricanes to ever hit the United States, made landfall on September 21st and flooded Mystic. The deluge lifted the building, floating it back and around. After the waters receded, it was left lying at an angle over the street. The postmaster, Robert D. Bradley, then decided to have it placed perpendicular to the tracks on School Street facing northeast.
The Crandall family resided at Maxson House for 55 years, from 1891 to 1946, the single longest period of recorded ownership to date. Martha Ackerly Crandall ran a millinery shop upstairs, making stylish hats for the local ladies, while her son established the first wet wash laundry in Mystic. Charles Thompson Crandall, Jr. set up Crandall's Steam Laundry in 1895 at the corner of Noank Road and School Street, essentially in our backyard.
A one-story building was constructed over a brook that supplied fresh water to a boiler, which delivered steam to power the washers and mangles. Clean laundry was dispatched back to customers to be hung and dried upon a line. Otherwise, drying and ironing services were made available for an additional fee. The business was sold in 1905, and its operations were transferred to Mystic Laundry, a facility located on the opposite side of the river.
Although the original steam laundry building no longer exists, the same babbling brook remains flowing through our property to this very day… for you to discover yourself during your stay at Maxson House.
