Historically, Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in 1784. The story of Mystic's nautical connection is told at Mystic Seaport, among the nation's largest maritime museums which has preserved a number of sailing ships, most notably the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan. The village is located on the Mystic River, which flows into Fishers Island Sound and by extension Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. The Mystic River Bascule Bridge crosses the river in the center of the village. The name "Mystic" is derived from the Pequot term "missi-tuk" describing a large river whose waters are driven into waves by tides or wind, according to a history cited by The Mystic River Historical Society. The population was 4,205 at the 2010 census.

To the northwest, the Five Nations of the Iroquois dominated the land linked by the Great Lakes and the Hudson River, allowing trading to occur between the Iroquois and the Dutch. The Pequots were settled just distant enough to be secure from any danger that the Iroquois posed. The Pequot War profoundly affected the Mystic area between 1636 and 1638. In May 1637, captains John Underhill and John Mason led a mission through Narragansett land, along with their allies the Narragansetts and Mohegans, and struck the Pequot Indian settlement in Mystic in the event which came to be known as the Mystic massacre. On September 21, 1638, the colonists signed the Treaty of Hartford, officially ending the Pequot War.

On July 19, 1922, the Mystic River Bridge spanning the Mystic River in Groton opened to the public. The bridge replaced the 1904 bridge and was fabricated by the American Bridge Company. It is a significant example of a Brown Balance Beam Bascule Bridge patented by former Otis Elevator Company Chief Engineer Thomas Ellis Brown of New York and was designed and built by the J. E. FitzGerald Construction Company of New London, Connecticut in 1920, according to its historical marker. Its movable span is 85 ft (26 m) wide, 218 ft (66 m) long, weighs 660 short tons (589 long tons; 599 t), and employs two 230 short tons (205 long tons; 209 t) concrete-filled counterweights. Until 1928, the bridge carried streetcars of the Groton and Stonington Street Railway.

The Brown bascule (or drawbridge) was an improved concept in movable bridge technology and replaced the swing bridge, providing for a single wide channel rather than two narrower channels with the ability to open the bridge only partially for smaller watercraft. The bascule bride is operated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and opens for approximately five minutes around 2,200 times per year, carrying an average daily traffic of 11,800. It is driven by two 1,400 pounds (640 kg) 40 horsepower (30 kW) direct current motors, and its span is greased and inspected every 100 openings or two weeks during the winter. From May 1 to October 31, the bridge opens hourly during daylight at 40 minutes past the hour and on demand. It usually raises to let sailboats and yachts pass under.