Textiles at Mystic Seaport: Making Rope

Before our trip to Mystic, I wouldn't have expected to be so interested in rope-making.

But this group of rope-makers is doing something very similar to what weavers do when we twist the fringe on a scarf.

Rope-making was mechanized, so that handmade rope is a rarity today.


Inside the very long ropewalk, moved from the now defunct Plymouth Cordage Company, raw materials for rope are processed using hackles, similar to the hackles used to process flax when spinning linen yarn.


Rope was made from hemp or jute.


Individual strands are spun.


Then the spools are loaded onto a spool rack, fed through a round disk with holes, and plied into rope.

Unfortunately, none of my pictures of the very long rope walk where machines plied these cords into rope worked out.



Love this rope storage device!!!

Just want to clarify that this equipment is set up, but wasn't being operated while we visited. There were signs in the rope walk building that explained the process.

Related Posts:
Mystic Seaport
Susan's Tutorial on Fringe-Twisting

Mystic Seaport

I haven't visited Mystic Seaport since childhood. I loved it even more as an adult!!

I like that Jim captured an action photo of me touring!

We were able to spend lots of times with staff and volunteers who knew so much history. I loved finding people who could answer my questions about history.

Row of Merchants

Visiting Mystic helped us visualize what life might have been like in Portsmouth, and other New Hampshire towns during the 1800's.

View from the north end of the property

Yacht spending the winter

According to dictionary.com, the name Mystic is derived from the Algonquian "missituk" which means great tidal river. ("Missi" = large and "tuk" is tidal river.) The Mystic River in Connecticut is actually an estuary.

I'd bet that many New England towns had areas like this in the 1850's

We definitely picked a good time to visit. They seem geared up for the summer season ahead, with enthusiastic people working there. Plus, it wasn't very crowded. There were some groups of students on field trips, and just enough other visitors that we didn't feel alone.

Sail Loft

Sails were hand sewn specifically for each ship out of commercially woven canvas.

Oyster Shack

Judging by restaurant menus, oysters are still plentiful in the area. In New Hampshire, the oyster fishery has been decimated.

Mystic Seaport has three sections: a restoration shipyard, an interpretation of a whaling village in the 1850's or so, and exhibit space and archives devoted to various sea-faring subjects.

Charles W. Morgan, Last wooden whaling ship being restored

A high school teacher who was very influential in my life recommended that I read Moby Dick again when I turned 35. I did. I still didn't get it.

This trip, coupled with having added another decade of life since then, makes me feel like maybe now I really would get it. Maybe I'll add it to my reading list again!

There's always something happening at Mystic Seaport. As we were leaving, a tug boat was being parked on the front lawn!

Mystic tips:

• Your ticket gives you admission for 2 days. You'll probably want to spend the 2 days there, so go ahead and get your re-entry pass when you buy your ticket. (The days don't have to be consecutive I don't think. They just need to be within 6 or 7 days of each other.)
  

Mashantucket Pequot Museum

Tower at Pequot Museum

On our way to a little get-away in Mystic, Connecticut, we visited the Pequot Museum near Foxwoods (a big casino).

View of Foxwoods from Tower

Museum Roof from Tower

We weren't quite sure what to expect, but it is a wonderful museum. I highly recommend visiting!!

Atrium

Dugout Canoe

No photos are permitted in the exhibit space. There is a floor that shows artifacts and explains about the natural surroundings in New England from the last ice age to the present.

Back View of Museum

The lowest floor in the museum is a 4 acre indoor re-creation of a Pequot village, including homes, gardens, hunting and fishing. That was my favorite part of the museum.

Brass numbers on the floor correspond to numbers you press on a hand-held audio device. You can walk around and learn more about the areas that interest you. I learned more about gardening, food storage, and the only domesticated animal the Pequots had (dogs!)

Pequot Museum Tips:

• Allow enough time. We spent just over 2 1/2 hours, and could have used a little more time.
• GPS Coordinates: N 41.46482 W 71.96181 (When we tried to use the street address on our GPS, we ended up somewhere else entirely.)
• Food: For lunch we went to Noah's in Stonington, which was good....but the museum's cafe looked good also. Prices seemed reasonable and the architecture of the cafe space was airy, open and interesting.
• Have fun!!!