Groton
[key]. <1> Town (2020 pop. 38,411), New London co., SE
Conn., including the borough of Groton and the village of West Mystic, on
the Thames River opposite New London; settled c.1650, inc. 1705.
Shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and commercial fishing are
among the town's industries. The huge New London Naval Submarine Base is on
the Thames; the Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, was
launched there in 1954. Groton is the site of Fort Griswold (1775),
unsuccessfully defended against the British in 1781. Of interest are tours
of the submarine base and a number of well-maintained colonial homes. A
branch of the Univ. of Connecticut is in Groton. Silas Deane was born there. <2>
Town (2020 pop. 11,315), Middlesex co., NE MA; inc. 1655. Originally
incorporating several villages on the Massachusetts and New Hampshire
borders, it was the site of many skirmishes in the pre-Revolutionary war
period between the French and British militias, the settlers, and Native
Americans, and a rallying point for the Minutemen during the battles of
Lexington and Concord. Following the war, local citizens participated in
Shay's Rebellion (1786-87), rising up against the state government's
attempts to levy taxes. In the 1920s, it was a gathering place for the Ku
Klux Klan. Two prep schools, Lawrence Academy (founded 1792) and the Groton
School (founded 1884) are located there.
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