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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