Groton

History

Groton was established in 1705 when it separated from New London. The town was named after Groton, Suffolk in England. A hundred years before it was established, the Niantic people settled in the area between the Thames River and Pawcatuck River, but they eventually settled in Westerly, Rhode Island. The newcomers to the land were the Pequots, an Algonquian people who moved into the Connecticut River Valley. The summer of 1614 was the first time that the Pequots encountered white settlers. They started trading furs for the settlers' goods, such as steel knives, needles, and boots. In 1633, the Dutch bought land from them and opened a fur trading post. Meanwhile, the English bought land for settlement from the local tribes. The land was poor for farming, but access to the region's waterways left room for commerce and trade, and Groton became a town of ocean-going settlers. Most of the community began to build ships, and soon traders made their way to Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony to trade for food, tools, weapons, and clothing. John Leeds was the earliest shipbuilder, coming as a sea captain from Kent, England. He built a 20-ton brigantine, a two-masted sailing ship with square-rigged sails on the foremast and fore-and-aft sails on the mainmast. Thomas Starr built a 67-ton square-sterned vessel, and Thomas Latham launched a 100-ton brig on the Groton bank with mast standing and fully rigged. The sturdy ships built in Groton engaged in highly profitable trade with the islands of the Caribbean. The Battle of Groton Heights was fought on September 6, 1781, between American troops led by Colonel William Ledyard and British forces led by Benedict Arnold. At sunrise, a force of 1,700 British regulars landed at the mouth of the Thames River in New London and…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 31.47%, is water. * Burnett's Corner—historic district located along Packer Road south of Route 184 * Center Groton * City of Groton—located along the Thames River ** Groton Heights or Groton Bank—historic district in the northern part of the city area * Groton Long Point * Long Hill * Mystic (06355)—a village within both the town of Stonington and the Town of Groton * Noank * Old Mystic * Poquonnock Bridge ** Fort Hill * Submarine Base area (Census designation: "Conning Towers-Nautilus Park") Other minor communities and geographic features are Bluff Point, Eastern Point, Esker Point, Jupiter Point, Mumford Cove, and West Pleasant Valley. Groton has a humid continental climate (Dfa) that closely borders a humid subtropical climate (Dfa).

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  16,299
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  14,403
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,242
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  11,729
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,718
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  11,664
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,403
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,062

Largest nearby schools

• Robert E. Fitch High School
  High · Groton · 1,005 students · 10.6:1 ratio
• East Lyme High School
  High · East Lyme · 966 students · 10.6:1 ratio
• Groton Middle School
  Middle · Groton · 907 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Ledyard High School
  High · Ledyard · 743 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Waterford High School
  High · Waterford · 735 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• East Lyme Middle School
  Middle · Niantic · 715 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• Ella T. Grasso Technical High School
  High · Groton · 654 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Gallup Hill School
  Elementary · Ledyard · 618 students · 13.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2020-11-08
  10 km S of Bliss Corner, Massachusetts
• M 2.6 — 2015-01-13
  2 km E of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 3.3 — 2015-01-12
  0 km NE of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 2.66 — 2014-08-14
  6 km SW of Deep River Center, Connecticut