Learn About Groton CT

Located on the Thames River, Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut. One of the United States Navy’s largest subcontractors, General Dynamics Electric Boat is headquartered here. 

Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company, and the Naval Submarine Base New London are also located in Groton. The University of Connecticut’s regional campus is located at Avery Point in Groton. As of the 2010 census, the population was 38,411.

The town of Groton was founded in 1705 when it split from New London, Connecticut. It took its name from Groton, Suffolk, England.

The Niantic people first settled in an area between the Thames and Pawcatuck Rivers but eventually moved to Westerly, Rhode Island, some 100 years before Groton was founded. Pequots, a branch of the Mohawk tribe, moved into the Connecticut River Valley from the east.

Groton was located on a poor piece of land for agriculture, but the region’s waterways made it an ideal site for trade and commerce, and it became a seaport. Residents of the community built ships in the early years, and traders traveled to Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colonies to trade food, tools, weapons, and clothing.

Groton is known for shipbuilding. Electric Boat is the town’s largest employer. As a subsidiary of Electric Boat, the New London Ship and Engine Company began industrial operations in Groton in 1911. 

NELSECO supplied engines for submarines designed by Electric Boat between 1911 and 1925. The first submarine to be built in Groton was the USS Cuttlefish, which was laid down in 1931. Electric Boat produced a submarine every two weeks during World War II.

Electric Boat launched the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, in 1954. The US Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum houses Nautilus, which is permanently decommissioned and open to visitors. 

It is sometimes referred to as the “Submarine Capital of the World” because Groton has a long history of submarines and is one of the world’s largest submarine bases. Groton is home to the National World War II Submarine Memorial East, which includes parts of the USS Flasher.

U.S. Census Bureau data indicates that the town has a total area of 45.3 square miles.

Principal communities are

• The historic district of Bennett’s Corner lies along Packer Road south of Route 184
• Center Groton
• City of Groton, which is situated along the Thames River
• The historic district Groton Heights or Groton Bank is located in the northern part of the city.
• Groton Long Point
• Long Hill
• A small portion of Mystic West is in Groton, but a majority of it is in Stonington
• Noank
• Old Mystic
• Poquonock Bridge
• Fort Hill
• Area of the submarine base with the Census code: “Conning Towers-Nautilus Park”

The following minor communities and geographic features are located in the vicinity: Bluff Point, Eastern Point, Esker Point, Jupiter Point, Mumford Cove, and West Pleasant Valley.

In 2000, the town’s population was 39,907 people. A total of 83.61% of the town’s residents are white, 6.95% are black or African American, 0.83% are Native Americans, 3.33% are Asian, 0.17% are Pacific Islanders, 1.66% are from other races, and 3.45% are from more than one race. Latinos of any race made up 5.01% of the population.

Groton is home to two major companies: General Dynamics Electric Boat and Pfizer. On the eastern shore of the Thames River, Electric Boat employs 10,500 people. One of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer maintains a 137-acre research and development facility in Groton.

The zip codes in Groton are 06340, 06349, and 06355.

The coordinates of Groton are 41.3497° N, 72.0791° W.