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Search results for: Groton
The Battle of Groton Heights at Fort Griswold
…forces attacked New London and burned the city on September 6, 1781. Across the river, British forces also attacked Fort Griswold during the Battle of Groton Heights. Battle of Groton…
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Groton
…in 1705, Groton separated from New London. The City of Groton, a distinct entity within the town of Groton, incorporated in 1903 and took its current name and governance in…
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Cleopatra’s Needle and Groton’s Captain Davis – Who Knew?
…that Cleopatra’s Needle, the Egyptian obelisk erected in Central Park across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, arrived safely from Egypt due to the ingenuity of Noank’s Henry E. Davis….
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The USS Nautilus: The World’s First Nuclear Submarine
…the Nautilus, the sixth Navy ship to hold that name. On June 14, 1952, President Harry S. Truman arrived at the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton to lay the keel…
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Benedict Arnold Turns and Burns New London
…of geography, world trade, and wartime economics turned New London (and neighboring Groton) into hotspots of historic import. A Bustling Port Turns to Privateering The Thames River provides New London…
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Freighter Worcester Launched – Today in History: April 5
…The freighter was built at the Groton Iron Works in support of the war effort for the Emergency Fleet Corporation of the United States Shipping Board. Groton Iron Works, formed…
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New London’s Ferries: A Transportation Tradition
…while other, special excursion boats, operated primarily during the summer—taking vacationers to popular beach destinations. Railroad ferry across Thames River, Groton, ca. 1889 – Groton Public Library and the Treasures…
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Ferry Boats a Way of Life in Early Connecticut
…Joshua Hempstead of New London wrote of using the ferry between New London and Groton frequently. Hempstead owned property in both New London and Stonington and often transported goods and…
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The Incident of the Stonington Schooner ‘Breakwater’: A View from Indian Country
…York Moses Brushell of Groton A Pequot Indian, James Freman of Groton A Negro Frank Joseph A Portaguese of Western Isalands. Horrace Robberts Rhode Isaland. Edward Gardner of Rhode Isaland…
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Oystering in Connecticut, from Colonial Times to the 21st Century
…Seaport Museum. Used through Public Domain. Town records of early colonists in Groton indicate that some oystermen experimented with cultivation. Groton oystermen bent branches into the water to attract oyster…
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Electric Boat: From Innovation Trials to WWII Submarine Leadership
…company, Electric Boat, eventually became an industry leader in Groton. Submarine Inventor Recognizes the Submarine’s Power John P. Holland – Wikimedia Commons Holland was fascinated by the idea of submerged…
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An Overview of Connecticut’s Outdoor Sculpture
…Ithiel Town, Groton Monument, 1830, Groton – Mystic Seaport In the 19th century, communities also honored local men who had died in war by emphasizing that they had defended the…
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One Powerful Family in Bozrah
…part of Groton Utilities. Today it operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Groton Utilities—providing power to 3,000 residents in Bozrah and parts of Lebanon, Franklin, Montville, and Salem. …
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Connecticut’s First Municipal Electric Utility
…other municipalities to construct their own facilities. Consequently, electric utilities were established in the Boroughs of Jewett City in 1897, Wallingford in 1899, Groton in 1904, and the City of…
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USS Nautilus Passes Under North Pole – Today in History: August 3
…General Dynamics Corp., in Groton, Connecticut, constructed the ship. Originally launched on January 21, 1954, by Mamie Eisenhower, the Nautilus became the first commissioned nuclear-powered ship in the United States…
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The Rise and Fall of Silas Deane, American Patriot
…that would have brought him back to end in his days in Connecticut. Family Life and Career A native of Groton and the son of a blacksmith, Deane was one…
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Fort Griswold Attacked – Today in History: September 6
…men and local recruits in defense of Fort Griswold on Groton Heights. When the British landed, General Benedict Arnold took command of those on the New London side of the…
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Causes of the Pequot War
…includes the towns of Groton, Ledyard, Stonington, and North Stonington, as well as southern portions of Preston and Griswold. The Thames and Pawcatuck Rivers formed the western and eastern boundaries,…
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The Ebenezer Avery House – Who Knew?
…that the Ebenezer Avery House on the grounds of Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park in Groton once served as a hospital and refuge for the wounded after the Revolutionary War’s…
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Echoes of the Old World: The Architectural Legacy of Ithiel Town
…are also to be found in Town’s work. His monument in Groton, commemorating the Revolutionary War Battle of Groton Heights, is a massive obelisk, evocative of Egypt and Renaissance Rome….
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Ledyard
…Colonel William Ledyard, a Revolutionary War soldier killed at the Battle of Groton Heights. Predominately a farming community in the 19th century, Ledyard in the 20th century became a bedroom…
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New London’s Indian Mariners
…descendants) when specific tribal labels are not applicable. On July 17, 1710, Peter Wayamayhue, a Pequot Indian who had served as an apprentice to Lieutenant John Faning of Groton,…
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Map – Connecticut Landmarks of the Constitution
…Forts: 22. Groton: Fort Griswold 23. New Haven: Fort Nathan Hale 24. New London: Fort Trumbull The Coast Guard Academy: 25. New London: Hamilton Hall, United States Coast Guard Academy…
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Abigail Hinman: Heroine of the American Revolution or Legend?
…American Revolution. Life in New London A Sketch of New London and Groton with the attacks made on Forts Trumbull and Griswold by the British Troops under the command of…
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Mystic River Bridge Opens – Today in History: July 19
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…
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USS George Washington Launched – Today in History: June 9
On June 9, 1959, the first nuclear-powered, ballistic-missile submarine, the USS George Washington (SSBN 598), was launched at Groton. The George Washington was originally scheduled to become the USS Scorpion,…
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John Ledyard, Connecticut’s Most Famous Traveler
…captain’s son in Groton in 1751, Ledyard, when just a young man, canoed solo down the Connecticut River from Dartmouth College to Hartford. He sailed uncharted waters with Captain James…
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I-95 Reaches New London
…across the Thames River between New London and Groton began in 1941. Despite delays caused by the United States’ entry into World War II, workers completed the bridge for its…
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Connecticut’s Official State Flag – Who Knew?
…Groton requested the government adopt an official flag. Inspired by the D.A.R., Governor O. Vincent Coffin introduced the first proposal for the adoption of a state flag and the General…
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Steam Railroads Transform Connecticut Travel and Commerce
…across the Connecticut River from Old Saybrook to Lyme and another across the Thames River from Groton to New London. The two ferry vessels were steam-powered and specifically built to…
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Science
…first functional submarine in the 1770s and dentist Horace Wells helped pioneer surgical anesthesia in the mid-1800s. More recently, Groton’s Electric Boat Company launched the world’s first nuclear-powered vessel, the…
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UConn and the Evolution of a Public University
…at Fort Trumbull in Groton. The McCarthy era took its toll on UConn when authorities forced four professors with alleged “red” connections from campus. A sensitive national issue played out…
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Airborne Pioneers: Connecticut Takes Flight
…land in Groton for Trumbull Field, the first state-owned airport. Trumbull Field became the home of the Connecticut Air National Guard and was used mainly for military purposes. World War…
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New London’s Sound Defense
…Consequently, on September 6, 1781, regular and Loyalist troops under Brigadier General Benedict Arnold attacked and burned much of New London. Nearby Fort Griswold in Groton also fell prey to…
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The War Connecticut Hated
…seems that unknown persons warned the British of Decatur’s attempted escape by placing blue signal lights on the heights of both New London and Groton. Were the warning lights set…
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John H. Trumbull: Connecticut’s “Flying Governor”
…growth of Bradley Field, and founded an airfield in Groton that still bears his name. Over the course of his piloting career, Trumbull experienced four significant crashes, including a mid-air…
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Plainville Has Been Flying High for Over 100 Years
…he began piloting his own flights to gubernatorial functions. He also helped found an airport in Groton that still bears his name. For years, this airport operated under the guidance…
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Iron and Water: The Norwich & Worcester Railroad Story
…Norwich & Worcester in 1898. Today the line, long since extended to Groton, is part of the Providence & Worcester Railroad’s regional freight system. Richard Malley is Head of Collections…
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The Adventure of a Lifetime: John Ledyard and Captain Cook’s Last Voyage
…against British soldiers and seamen, John Ledyard, born in Groton, Connecticut, was aboard Captain Cook’s ship, the Resolution, encountering new lands and new peoples in the northern and southern Pacific,…
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Benedict Arnold: America’s Most Famous Traitor
…Groton with the attacks made on Forts Trumbull & Griswold by the British troops under the command of Brigr. Genl. Arnold, Sept. 6th, 1781 – Library of Congress, Geography and…
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Andover to Woodstock: How Connecticut Ended Up with 169 Towns
…incorporated as Groton in 1705. From the mid-18th century onward, most new towns formed when an ecclesiastical society in an existing town sought incorporation as an independent town. By 1790…
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Connecticut Declares War Against the Pequot – Today in History: May 1
…would fight dozens of battles in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Confrontations occurred in the present day towns of Old Saybrook, Groton, Wethersfield, and Fairfield as well as in Mystic and…
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Chief G’tinemong/Ralph W. Sturges
…anniversary and a sculpted Lighthouse to the United States Coast Guard Academy in Groton in honor of its superintendent, Rear Admiral Malcolm E. Clark, who had passed. During the 1980s,…
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Site Lines: The Mysterious Blue Lights
…the Thames River; Fort Griswold in Groton and Fort Trumbull in New London. After grounding on the river bottom at the start of his passage, Decatur maneuvered the three ships…
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Joseph Alsop: Cunning Political Columnist of Mid-Century America
…in Avon, Connecticut. The son of Joseph Alsop and Corinne Robinson, this famous columnist was born in 1910 and grew up in relative wealth, graduating from the Groton School in…
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Africans in Search of the American Dream: Cape Verdean Whalers and Sealers
…Trials at Sea The Charles W. Morgan shown at her permanent berth at Mystic Seaport – Groton Public Library Collections In addition to whales, Connecticut vessels hunted seals beginning in…
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“Legalized Piracy”: Connecticut’s Revolutionary War Privateers
…partially motivated the British Army’s attack on New London on September 6, 1781. While the Battle of Groton Heights did result in the loss of around ten ships, most escaped…
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Connecticut’s Environmental History and its Lessons for Today
…Haven, Groton Long Point, and Stratford lost over half their marsh acreage. The unintended damage included declining fish and shellfish populations, degraded water quality, and heightened flood risks. Early Warnings…
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Ironclad Commissioned – Today in History: April 21
On April 21, 1862, the USS Galena was commissioned. New Haven businessman Cornelius Bushnell submitted the design for the Galena by naval architect Samuel H. Pook to the United States…
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USS Tullibee – Today in History: April 27
On April 27, 1960, the USS Tullibee, the first atomic submarine to use turbo-electric propulsion, was launched. The Tullibee was also the first in a new class of hunter-killer submarines…
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Mystic-built USS Galena Part of Plan to Strengthen Union Navy
By Diana Moraco On February 14, 1862, the first seagoing ironclad warship of the United States Navy was launched in Mystic, Connecticut. The debut of the USS Galena in the…
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