Historic Mystic Seaport waterfront on the Mystic River in autumn. Mystic Connecticut was a wooden shipbuilding center from the 1600s through the 1800s. In 1929 residents founded the Marine Historical Association to keep the past alive. The seaport, with historical buildings, demonstrations and ships, is a popular New England tourist destination. The Mystic Lighthouse, built in 1966, is a full size replica of the Brant Point Lighthouse in Nantucket, Massachusetts, a harbor lighthouse and the shortest in New England. Though never an aid to navigation, it currently houses a fourth order Fresnel lens on loan from the United States Coast Guard. When you visit, you can enter the lighthouse and watch two short videos about lighthouses. The US has more lighthouses than any other country in the world.