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From YouTube: Groton Bank - Groton Tercentennial Lecture Series
Description
Dr. Tom Althuis talks about the significance of the Groton Bank area and its place in Groton's history. This lecture is part of the Groton Public Library's Tercentennial Lecture Series celebrating the incorporation of Groton in 1705.
A
As
it's
really
a
pleasure
to
be
here
tonight
and
I'm
glad
to
see
so
many
of
you
have
come
out
for
this
talk
about
Groton,
Bank
Groton
Bank
is
often
that
part
of
our
town.
That
seems
to
be
forgotten
these
days,
and
so
I
want
to
focus
on
tonight
why
the
history
of
Groton
Bank
is
important
and
I'm
just
curious.
Do
some
of
you
in
the
audience
have
a
feel
as
to
why
Groton
bank
is
important
in
the
history
of
our
town?
A
Important
well
before
we
do
that,
let's
say
define
what
is
Groton
Bank.
This
is
not
Chelsea
Groton
Bank.
This
is
the
Groton
Bank
along
the
water
and
Groton
Bank
was
the
colonial
settlement
on
the
east
bank
of
the
Thames
and
in
early
times
in
the
1600s.
This
was
part
of
New
London
Groton
was
not
the
name.
The
Pequot
colony
after
John
Winthrop,
founded
it
in
1646,
extended
for
four
miles
on
each
side
of
the
river.
So
this
was
simply
known
as
the
east
side
or
the
East
Bank.
A
It
wasn't
until
about
1905
when
Groton
became
a
separate
town
that
that
carried
on
then
to
the
terminology
Groton
Bank,
which
stuck
with
the
village
as
the
prominent
name
for
most
of
its
history.
Since
then,
the
biers.
This
is
a
map
from
beers,
Ellison
soul,
which
is
one
of
the
authoritative
atlases
of
the
southeastern
Connecticut
back
in
1868
and
I
know,
you
can't
read
all
those
names
and
that's
not
the
purpose
of
it
and
you
have
when
you
are
interested.
A
A
That
is
the
area
we're
talking
about
tonight
represents
one
percent
of
the
area
of
the
town
of
Groton.
One
percent
and
I
would
argue
that
this
one
percent
probably
has
the
richest
history
of
any
other
one
percent
you're
going
to
find,
oh
and
even
more
so
than
any
other
section
of
the
town.
Let's
see
whether
you
agree
with
me
at
the
end
of
the
evening.
A
The
main
reasons
are,
as
it
was
one
of
gratin
whoops
I'm,
going
the
wrong
way
here.
Sorry
about
that,
it
was
one
of
grotton's,
earliest
settlements,
the
settled
by
Kari
Latham,
the
ferryman
in
1655.
In
that
time,
Kari
Latham
built
his
ferry
Tavern
on
what
was
the
east
bank
of
Thames
Street
in
that
very
tavern
used
to
stand
right
in
that
spot
opposite.
A
What
is
today,
the
known
is
the
Avery
house
in
the
years
that
followed,
Groton
Bank
became
very
quickly
a
national
and
world
leader
in
shipbuilding,
a
leader
in
harbor
and
now
national
defense,
the
main
hub
of
business
in
commerce
for
the
town
of
Groton
and
the
transportation
center
for
the
town
of
Groton.
As
a
result
of
all
of
these
activities,
it
also
was
the
residents
of
quite
a
number
of
nationally
known
people
all
in
this
little
bitty
area
here
and
therefore
I
believe.
The
history
of
Groton
Bank
represents
very
closely
the
roots
of
present-day
Groton.
A
Here
now,
Carol
Kimball,
who
you
all
know,
as
our
town
historian,
would
say.
John
Leeds
made
his
money
the
old-fashioned
way.
He
married
the
daughter
of
the
wealthiest
man
in
town
who
was
this
guy
Carrie
Latham.
Who
was
the
settler?
He
owned
a
great
part
of
that
land.
He
ran
the
ferry
back
and
forth
and
he
had
the
land
which
John
Leeds
started
to
build
ships
on.
A
But
let
me
just
say
that
there,
even
at
that
time
in
the
early
1700s,
there
were
other
shipyards
up
in
this
area
where
the
gold
star
bridge
is
today,
the
star
family
was
involved
in
shipbuilding
and
there
was
a
family
by
the
name
of
the
Latham's
were
involved
in
shipbuilding
near
where
the
northern
and
the
VB
is.
Today.
A
That's
that's
three
big
ships
a
year
in
this
one
yard
and
through
the
1800s
Samuel
Moxley
of
in
the
area
of
353,
Thames
Street,
which
is
right
in
here,
was
also
building
ships.
In
the
end
it
may
launched
11
ships
in
the
in
the
1850s
and
smaller
vessels
were
also
built.
The
Ferguson's
who
had
a
yard
up
here-
I,
don't
know
if
any
of
you
know
Carl
Safford,
but
the
Ferguson's
were
his
ancestors
and
his
house
was
up.
Here
is
still
there
at
1:37
Thames
Street
right
about
in
that
area
of
the
map.
A
Biggest
ship
in
the
world
was
launched
in
1903,
so
says
the
day
on
April
16,
and
that
was
a
ship
called
the
Minnesota.
Some
twenty
thought
Tunney
was
the
largest
steel
freighter
in
the
world
launched
by
Eastern
shipbuilding,
which
was
at
that
time
located
on
the
Groton
Bank
map.
At
the
point
where
you
see
that
railroad
ferry
come
in
to
the
northern
and
the
VEB
property
today
they
didn't
do
just
one
of
this.
A
These
they
did
two
twin
ships,
the
Minnesota
and
the
Dakota,
which
were
the
largest
steel
freighters
in
the
world,
built
right
here
and
Groton
back
on
the
Thames
River.
Well,
the
of
course.
In
more
modern
times,
we
all
know
the
role
of
EB
in
shipbuilding.
Diesel
submarines
were
built
during
the
war
and
the
first
nuclear
submarine.
The
Nautilus
was
christened
in
1954
and
followed
by
many
many
other
nuclear
submarines.
So
I
hope
there
is
no
question
that
and
Bank
played
a
leading
role
in
shipbuilding
for
more
than
three
centuries.
A
A
The
fort,
of
course
was
built
because
in
part
because
we
had
believe
it
or
not,
a
very
famous
Patriot
that
lived
on
Thames
Street
as
well.
His
name
was
Thomas
Mumford
and
he
lived
in
the
vicinity
of
the
corner
of
broad.
What's
broaden
Thames
Street
today
he
was
active
in
the
1760s
protesting
things
like
the
Sugar
Act
in
the
Stamp
Act.
A
So
it
was
at
any
surprise
that
also
being
a
member
of
the
Connecticut
colonial
assembly
that
he
proposed
a
fort
should
be
built
in
Groton,
and
his
proposal
was
immediately
accepted
for
Griswold
was
started
in
1775,
and
this
upper
part,
which
we
know
from
colonial
times,
was
finished,
pretty
much
finished
the
year
later.
Of
course,
then
we
had
five
years
later
there
was
the
battle
at
Fort
Griswold.
The
British
troops
were
under
the
command
of
Benedict
Arnold,
who
landed
800
troops
on
each
side
of
the
mouth
of
the
river.
A
Each
group
marching
up
north
New
London,
was
quickly
overrun.
The
eight
hundred
people,
that
of
troops
that
attacked
Fort
Griswold
on
the
British
side,
met
considerable
resistance
from
only
a
fifth
of
that
number
of
colonists
about
a
hundred
and
sixty
and
stormed
the
fort
three
times
before
they
got
in.
Of
course,
I.
Think
most
of
you
know
the
history
of
that
battle
and
that's
a
whole
story.
In
itself
the
British
did
win.
There
was
great
loss
of
life
on
both
sides.
A
After
the
battle,
the
British
left
many
of
the
wounded
at
the
Ebenezer
Avery
house,
which
it
is
that
the
court
was
at
the
corner
of
themes
in
latham
streets
and
they
departed
from
a
parklet
that
today,
that's
marked.
On
the
other
side
there
today
the
Avery
house
has
been
moved
to
Fort
Griswold,
where
it
is
restored
and
in
the
lower
battery
the
fort
was
also
active
in
the
war
of
1812.
A
It
was
man
we
never
had
an
attack
here
groton,
although
the
British
did
blockade,
the
harbour
and
Commodore
Decatur
was
blockaded
in
here
and
after
the
war
of
1812,
the
lower
part
of
the
fort
was
rebuilt.
We
just
had
looked
at
the
upper
for
tup
here
down
below
in
the
lower
section
in
1843
this
powder
house,
as
well
as
the
shot
house
were
built.
The
shot
house
here
was
to
heat
those
cannon
ball
up
red-hot.
A
So
when
you
fired
them
into
a
wooden
ship,
it
would
catch
on
fire
and
additional
cannon
were
added
to
the
fort
in
in
the
1840s
and
again
later
through
the
1800s,
and
this
is
a
probably
what
the
fort
looked
like
at
the
time
of
the
spanish-american
war,
a
great
number
of
cannon
on
heavy
embankments
along
the
river
cannon.
But
you
can,
if
you
look
closely,
you
can
see
pile,
it
doesn't
come
out
clearly,
but
there
are
piles
that
cannonball
in
there
and
so
forth.
A
So
the
conclusion
of
this
second
chapter
of
Groton
Bank
history,
which
is
defense,
is
that
today,
shipbuilding
and
harbor
defense
have
become
merged
and
broadened
to
national
defence,
and
nobody
I
think,
will
challenge
the
role
and
the
importance
of
both
EB
and
the
Groton
submarine
base,
which
are
integral
parts
of
the
town
of
Groton
in
terms
of
national
defence.
Today,
although
some
in
Washington
are,
but
it
clearly
over,
the
centuries
has
been
played
a
very
important
role.
A
We've
talked
about
shipbuilding
as
one
form
of
business
which
was
going
on
since
the
1680s,
but
there
was
another
business
going
on
and
I
should
preface
this
by
saying
much
of
the
business
and
commerce
parts
of
Groton
banks.
History
were
connected
with
New
London
and
New.
London
was
often
the
leader
in
these,
but
Groton
Bank
played
an
important
role
even
in
the
early
or
the
late
1600s
to
the
war
of
1812.
A
When
the
West
Indies
trade
was
big
in
this
area,
there
were
wharfs
and
warehouses
and
shops
and
stores
on
Groton
Bank
along
the
river
here
scattered
among
those
shipyards
and
Groton.
Bank
was
also
active
in
coastal
trade
and
shipping,
with
shipping
goods
to
such
places
as
Boston
Massachusetts,
Newport,
Rhode,
Island,
New,
York,
City,
of
course,
in
Virginia,
and
then
came
a
area,
a
lively
era
of
prosperity.
When
we
had
lots
of
whaling
in
sealy,
New
London
was
in
this
period
the
number
2
or
number
3
leading
place
in
the
country
for
whaling
and
sealing.
A
It
was
second
only
to
New
Bedford
and
occasionally
it
got
knocked
to
third
place
by
Nantucket.
But
Groton
Bank
played
an
instrumental
role
in
that
as
well,
because
a
number
of
many
of
the
sea
captains
who
sailed
out
of
New
London,
lived
here
on
Groton
Bank
and
later
on.
Some
of
those
and
other
people
also
as
part
of
business
in
het
Commerce
became
the
Groton
bank
bankers,
but
they
didn't
work
in
Groton
bank.
To
my
knowledge
there
was
never
a
bank
on
Groton
Bank.
Some
of
you
are
natives.
A
A
A
He
came
back
15
months
later
and
sold
his
cargo
for
a
profit
of
a
hundred
and
fifteen
thousand
dollars.
Now
we
don't
sneeze
it
that
today,
that
was
real
money
in
1865.
A
hundred
thousand
doesn't
really
go
that
far
anymore
and
then
Captain
Morgan
Roth
did
a
number
of
other
things.
He
was
in
the
Alaskan
business.
A
He
was
a
millionaire,
not
too
shabby
for
those
times,
but
his
record
was
soon
broken
by
another
Groton
banker
who
lived
down
here,
that
being
Captain
William
H
Allen,
who
went
out
to
sea
about
a
year
later
and
took
spent
another
extra
year
or
so
out
there,
but
came
back
in
1866
and
sold
his
cargo
for
four
hundred
and
seventeen
thousand
dollars.
Yes,
Rosie!
A
Oh,
yes,
no!
No!
No!
No,
in
fact
he
was
he
was,
is
reported
to
been
a
pillar
in
the
Baptist
Church
and
rattler.
Can't
in
fact,
is
one
account
says
he
would
not
catch
whales
on
Sunday,
but
rattler
was
the
nickname
because
of
the
rattling
good
stories.
He
could
tell
thank
you
so
that
brings
us
then
into
the
through
the
era
where
we
had
lots
of
business
and
commerce
going
on
along.
A
Here
too,
I
would
like
to
point
out,
however,
that
although
I've
pointed
up
here
and
to
rattler
living
up
here
and
others,
the
history
of
Groton
Bank
until
1800
was
basically
the
history
of
Thames
Street
people
didn't
start
to
live
up
on
these
streets
in
any
numbers.
Until
the
early
1800s
granted
there
were
a
few
houses
out
on
the
hillside
like
this
one,
which
is
the
Joseph
Latham
house
built
in
1717,
and
it
which
is
still
there
today.
But
this
was
pretty
void
of
houses.
A
A
Chapter
4,
with
a
result
of
all
of
this
activity,
Groton
became
a
transportation
center
as
well
now
Edward.
The
first
person
who
probably
ever
settled
in
Groton,
was
a
man
by
the
name
of
Edward
messenger
in
1651,
and
he
was
the
first
ferryman,
but
he
does
not
appear
to
have
been
or
settled
in
this
Groton
Bank
area
and
furthermore,
he
didn't
stay
here
very
long.
A
He
left
and
went
someplace
else,
so
the
in
terms
of
our
Groton
Bank
history,
the
first
permanent
settlers
that
lived
here
as
I
said,
was
Kari
Latham,
who
built
his
ferry
Tavern
in
1655,
and
that
was
over
here
opposite
the
Avery
cop
house.
Now,
when
you
think
of
ferries
today,
of
course,
some
of
us
have
been
on
thus
a
circus
in
the
comfortable
reclining
seats
and
so
forth.
A
What
was
a
ferry
like
in
1650,
my
goodness,
Edward
messenger's
ferry,
was
a
canoe,
a
dugout
canoe
rowing
across
the
Thames
and
Kari
Latham
received
the
ferry
contract
in
1655,
and
one
of
the
reasons
he
moved
here.
There
were
two
requirements
on
that
contract,
and
maybe
more
but
two
that
we
can
talk
about
its
first
with
certain.
In
one
was,
it
was
required
that
he
live
on.
A
Groton
Beck
was
evidently
Messinger,
hadn't
done
that,
and
also
that
he
had
to
have
a
very
big
enough
for
man
and
beast
evidently,
Messinger
didn't
have
that
either
and
so
Kari
Latham
had
one-horse
canoe
and
three
smaller
canoes.
That
was
the
carry
Latham
ferry
service
in
1655
and
for
many
years
that
followed
now.
A
I
have
enough
of
a
time
staying
up
in
a
canoe
by
myself,
I
hate
to
be
in
one
with
a
horse,
so
this
was
primitive
stuff
and,
as
I
said
earlier,
John
Leeds,
who
made
his
money
the
old-fashioned
way
then
took
over
the
ferry
service
from
Carrie
Latham,
his
father-in-law
in
1681
and
weed
and
ferry
service
continuing
as
part
of
transportation.
Of
course,
there
was
also
the
West
Indies
in
coastal
shipping
trade.
A
So
if
you
were
a
Groton
resident
and
you
wanted
to
go
to
New
York,
you
just
got
on
one
of
these
boats,
taking
shipping,
cargo
and
merchandise
to
one
of
these
places
and
in
1821
there
was
an
advance
in
the
ferry
service
if
a
larger
ferry
was
employed-
and
it
was
now
propelled
by
four
blind
horses
running
on
a
treadmill-
I
mean
that's
an
advance,
but
anyway
it
was
a
bigger
service
for
blind
horses
on
a
treadmill.
Well,
because
the
ferry
was
bigger,
stagecoaches
could
now
be
taken
across
the
Thames
River
for
the
first
time.
A
A
A
Don't
know
if
it
landed
at
that
time
it
thingsand
Pleasance
Street,
but,
as
you
can
see
from
your
map,
the
1868
the
date
on
this
map,
the
ferry
line
to
New
London
came
in
at
the
end
of
Pleasant
Street.
Here
previously
I'd
said
there
carry
Latham's
ferry
was
up
in
here,
and
we
will
see
shortly
that
the
ferry
later
moved
to
the
end
of
school.
Street.
I,
don't
quite
know
why
all
of
that
moved.
A
But
it
would
stand
to
reason
that
bigger
ferries
and
different
ferry
operators
who
owned
different
parcels
of
land
would
move
it
from
time
to
time,
and
that
was
those
were
probably
some
of
the
factors
and
then
also
another
advance
in
transportation
in
our
history
was
the
first
railroad
ferry,
which
was
a
steam
ferry
between
Groton,
Bank
and
New.
London
was
introduced
in
operating
in
1859,
and
that
came
in
down
here
toward
what
is
today
the
northern
part
of
EB,
and
you
can
see
that
on
the
handout
maps,
but
not
on
this
one.
A
Well,
that
was
another
important
advance
because
by
the
eighteen
early
1850s
train
service
had
come
from
New
York
as
far
as
New
London,
but
it
had
not
yet
the
Thames
River
and
there
was
just
kind
of
a
gap
between
New,
London
and
Stonington
in
terms
of
going
any
further.
Some
trains
just
went
up
the
Thames
River
and
went
north
from
there.
So
this
was
an
important
thing.
The
steam
ferry
was
introduced.
However,
it
only
took
railroad
cars
and
their
passengers
across
the
engines.
There
were
engines
left
on
both
sides.
A
It
could
take
hours
to
get
this
thing
lined
up
properly
to
get
those
cars
back
off
and
the
famous
author,
Charles
Dickens,
took
this
ferry
across
the
Thames
River
in
the
1860s
and
wrote
a
very
unflattering
account
of
that
trip.
For
those
kinds
of
reasons.
This
was
not
an
easy
fun
thing
to
do.
Necessarily
it
may
have
been
more
like
being
on
bumper
cars
at
the
amusement
park,
but
at
least
there
you
aren't
falling
in
the
water
so
but
a
very
large
number
of
cars
we're
taking
taken
across
for
a
period
of
actually
of
what.
A
And
as
you
can
read
here
that
from
the
picture
out
of
this
book,
this
was
the
largest
bridge
of
its
kind
in
the
world
right
here
and
the
Thames
river
right
in
our
neighborhood.
Can
you
believe
that
there's
a
picture
of
it-
and
this
is
what
it
looked
like
if
you
looked
at
it
from
the
water
and
with
this
new
edition
of
the
railroad
bridge
coming
out
on
to
Groton
Bank?
A
So
we're
coming
up
in
the
world
now
in
the
mean
well,
and
let's
take
a
look
at
at
this
transportation
issue
again
and
realize
that,
even
though
we
had
the
Train
for
the
average
people
in
Groton
Bank
in
New
London,
that
is
they
they
were
still
taking
the
ferry
back
and
forth.
This
was
the
main
transportation
for
people
who
were
commuting.
Every
day
they
didn't
take
the
train
very
often,
and
that
ferry
came
in
in
1900
at
the
bottom
of
school
Street
in
a
place
referred
to
as
ferry
landing
back.
A
Then,
if
those
of
you
who
may
be
familiar
with
the
area
will
recognize
that
this
building
is
still
there
today.
This
is
the
building
that
Ken's
tackle
shop
is
in
today,
but
we're
looking
at
the
side
of
it
and
we'll
come
around
and
look
at
the
whole
thing.
But
there
were
a
number
of
shops
and
offices
in
here,
and
this
was
a
small
waiting
room
for
people
waiting
for
the
ferry
or
waiting
to
be
picked
up
or
whatever,
and
this
was
a
postal
and
telegraph
office
that
building
actually
stood
there
till
about
1970.
A
A
A
Biscuits
were
just
a
nickel
back
then,
and
there's
a
pool
hall
here.
You
could
evidently
spend
your
time
playing
pool
waiting
for
the
ferry
or
waiting
for
your
Aunt
Millie
to
pick
you
up
or
whatever
the
case
may
have
been,
and
this
was
the
place
to
get
all
your
goodies
that
you
needed.
You
just
stepped
into
Carlos
Alan's
store.
This
note.
This
is
before
electricity,
but
it
didn't
change
much
with
electricity.
You
can
see
the
electric
light
bulbs
here.
Yes,.
A
I
hear
lots
of
people
talk
about.
You
know
this
transportation
and
of
course,
in
earlier
times,
another
form
of
transportation
in
the
winter
was
people
walked
across
the
river
because
it
froze
and
Thomas
Mumford
who
I
spoke
of
earlier,
as
the
patriot
is
recorded
in
history
of
having
had
a
wedding
for
his
daughter
on
Groton
Bank
in
the
winter
and
the
guests
walked
over
from
New
London.
There
was
a
storm
and
the
ice
all
broke
up
and
they
couldn't
get
back
so
he
had
a
houseful
for
days,
but
anyway,
just
a
sidelight.
A
A
Let's
walk
north
a
little
bit
on
Thames
Street
in
this
era,
and
we
would
see
immediately
north
of
the
ferry
landing
the
office
in
the
shops
of
the
marque
bought
brothers.
They
were
major
builders
of
houses
and
even
larger
buildings
in
Groton.
They,
for
example,
built
the
mark
Watts
built
the
Congregational
Church
up
on
monument
street.
A
Across
the
street
from
that
house
is
a
residence
of
the
Pendleton's
who
I
didn't
know
anything
about,
but
note
this
is
a
setter
chimney:
colonial
style
house.
It
has
been
revamped
with
added
porches
and
a
pediment
here,
but
there
are
a
number
of
center
chimney
houses
still
on
Groton
Bank
and
they
generally
date
about
1850.
A
One
of
them
was
the
abbot
ends
in
Ebenezer
Avery
house,
at
the
fort,
the
Greek
Revival
that
you
just
see
the
columns.
There
is
still
there
today
on
Thames
Street,
and
then
we
also
have
the
Avery
Kop
house,
which
I
think
is
probably
familiar
to
more
people.
It's
on
the
west
side
of
Thames
Street.
Much
of
Thames
Street
in
these
days
was
residential
on
the
east
side
and
business
on
the
west
side,
particularly
the
northern
end
of
the
street.
A
This
is
the
house
immediately
north
of
the
cop
house,
I
pointed
out
because
it's
a
centered
chimney
colonial
of
our
Nena
Center,
hallway
colonial
of
1787.
It
was
the
house
built
by
Rufus
Avery,
who
was
a
defender
at
Fort
Griswold
and
the
first
man
to
see
the
British
fleet
off
our
coast
on
September,
6th
and
1781.
A
Across
the
street,
from
or
no
another
picture
of
the
same
house,
just
at
its
light,
a
few
years
later,
when
the
street
had
been
revamped
across
the
street,
was
the
House
bill
originally
built
by
Park
Avery,
who
was
also
one
of
the
people
who
constructed
Fort
Griswold,
and
it
was
himself
a
defender
in
1782.
He
built
the
original
of
this
house,
which
was
a
one-story
and
in
later
years
a
second
storey
was
added
in
the
Victorian
period.
C
A
There
were
a
number
of
people
that
survived,
I,
think
about
half
of
them
were
killed,
but
about
half
survived
and
Park
Avery
and
Rufus
Avery
were
survivors
as
a
few
others,
there's
a
half
a
dozen
or
so
houses
on
Groton
Bank.
That
belonged
to
two
defenders
of
Fort
Griswold
and
we
survived
because
the
Brit
we
know
that
because
they
built
the
houses
after
the
battle,
the
British
burned
a
number
of
houses
in
Groton.
A
This
is
just
an
interesting
different
form
of
architecture.
It's
a
gambrel,
roof
colonial!
You
don't
see
many
of
those
that's
still
on
Thames
Street,
and
this
is
probably
the
most
famous
house
in
Groton
Bank
and
maybe
even
Groton.
The
mother
Bailey
house,
also
known
as
the
mother
Bailey
in
it
was,
and
this
was
the
site
if
this
area
was
also
the
place
where
Tom
Ford
Thomas
Mumford
the
Patriot
lived
back
in
the
time
before
the
battle.
His
house
was
one
of
those
burned
by
the
British
and
I.
A
Don't
know
what
happened
to
him
after
that,
but
Anna
Warner
Bailey
was
famous
became
famous
because,
first
of
all,
she
was
the
first
woman
to
enter
the
fort
after
the
battle
she
was
looking
for
her
uncle
and
dr.
Prentiss
was
there
tending
to
the
wounded
and
she
just
stayed
and
helped
it.
He
built
this
house
then
after
the
war
revolution,
and
she
and
her
husband
wound
up
buying
it
some
years
later.
A
But
her
claim
to
fame
really
happened
during
the
War
of
1812,
when
our
Harbor
was
again
blockaded
and
she
was
walking
down
Thames
Street
one
day
and
approached
by
a
couple
of
soldiers
who
were
looking
for
cannon
wadi,
which
was
necessary
in
those
times
for
firing
cannon,
and
she
immediately
in
the
middle
of
Thames.
Street
just
took
off
her
petticoats
and
gave
them
well.
I
mean
that
was
pretty
good.
Okay
in
1812
might
even
be
no,
but
anyway
she
received
national
publicity.
A
A
That's
correct:
it's
the
south
east
corner
mm-hmm
built
in
1782
another
view
of
the
same
house
with
a
more
recent
postcard,
a
little
bit
of
coloring
there
and
next
house
north,
which
is
still
there
sorry
for
the
quality
of
the
picture.
But
you
know
we
can't
always
choose
when
we're
looking
for
old
pictures.
This
was
the
house
of
congressman
Noyes
barber.
A
Congressman
barber
well
was
an
interesting
character.
He
started
in
business
when
he
was
11
years
old
and
was
soon
in
the
West
Indies
trade.
He
became
a
major
in
the
Continental
I.
Think
the
8th
regiment
of
Connecticut
defending
the
coastline
in
the
war
of
1812
served
in
the
legislature
and
in
1821
was
elected
to
the
US
Congress
and
served
there
for
seven
years.
He
was
a
good
friend
of
Admiral
Decatur,
who
was
blockaded
in
the
harbor
but
I
guess
that
worked
out
okay
because
they
would
party
in
congressman
barbers
house.
A
Congressman
oiz
barber
was
what
was,
in
those
days
called
the
Jeffersonian
Republican,
but
his
friend
was
John
Quincy
Adams
and
who
was
of
the
opposite
party,
but
he
decided
so
he
decided
he
would
vote
for
his
friend
crossing
party
lines,
which
caused
quite
a
stir
at
that
level.
But
anyway
he
died
in
this
house
about
1840.
A
The
house
is
still
there:
okay,
okay,
as
we're
going
we've
had
this
congressman.
Barber
was
also
the
son
of
one
of
the
earlier
ministers
of
the
Congregational
Church,
and
this
is
the
Congregational.
We
know
the
Congregational
Church
on
monument
street,
but
this
was
the
which
was
the
fourth
meeting
house
of
that
church.
This
was
the
third
meeting
house
and
it
was
built
on
thames
street
in
1833
and
while
I'm
talking
to
you
still,
the
new
church
was
built
and
dedicated
in
1902.
A
The
land,
for
this
is
one
of
the
reasons
the
church
was
here.
Was
the
barber
family
gave
the
land
for
the
church,
which
I'm
sure
was
a
somewhat
of
an
influence
to
get
a
free
building
site?
But
another
thing
I
should
mention
that
I
didn't
mention
earlier
is,
of
course
we
were
talking
about
the
ferries
and
one
of
the
things
that
was
the
driving
force
for
Groton
to
become
a
separate
town
was
churches.
A
There
was
not
really
freedom
of
religion
in
the
colonies.
Freedom
of
religion
didn't
come
until
our
Constitution
came
into
place.
If
you
lived
in
dream,
you
had
to
go
to
church
on
Sundays
and
your
were
not
allowed
to
have
a
church
in
your
vicinity
unless
you
were
a
bonafide
town,
so
that
meant
people
in
Groton
had
to
get
on
those
ferries
and
go
across
the
river
on
Sundays
to
go
to
church
in
New
London.
A
Oh
well,
anyway,
we're
a
little
sidetracked
here,
but
we're
working
our
way
back
up
to
the
bridge
and
still
in
the
transportation
chapter
here
is
again
that
1889
railroad
bridge
but
lots
of
activity
the
Harvard
race
was
taking
place
here.
People
with
better
eyesight
than
I
can
say
whether
that's
1898
or
1893,
but
anyway
I.
Don't
can
you
imagine
all
these
folks
standing
on
the
railroad
bridge
today.
A
Well,
let's
take
the
let's
join
these
guys
down
the
river
and
we
come
back
on
the
river
now
and
pass
the
Congregational
Church
that
I
mentioned-
and
this
was
the
congressman
Barbara's
house
and
the
mother
Bailey
house,
which
you
can't
see
because
of
these
buildings
was
where
this
big
tree
is
or
as
still
is,
and
here
we
come
behind
the
Ferguson
House,
which
was
which
is
at
137
Thames
Street.
Today.
A
This
is
where
the
Ferguson's
built
a
number
of
yachts
and
sailboats
in
the
late
1800s
there's
still
a
marine
railroading
back
to
the
house
for
launching
these
boats
and
the
Ferguson's
also
built
a
yacht
for
mr.
plant,
a
small
one
mr.
plant
had
huge
Lots
yachts,
but
going
now
if
we
find
ourselves
in
New
London
and
we
want
to
get
back
to
Groton.
A
Well,
you
go
down
to
what
was
called
the
parade
or
the
old
Depot,
which
is
where
the
train
station
is
today
and,
and
you
could
hop
on
any
number
of
of
steamers
going
lots
of
places
and
including
there
was
the
ferry
to
Groton
right
here,
and
so,
let's
get
on
the
ferry
and
go
on
over.
This
is
the
governor
Winthrop
Ferry.
It's
going
to
take
us
back.
A
You
can
see
the
monument
here,
the
Groton
shoreline,
even
here
in
1900,
pretty
much
the
way
it
does
the
day
in
the
Groton
Bank
area
getting
closer
and,
of
course,
my
room
here
is
in
Horace
Newbery's
house
within
courses
here
this
evening.
I,
don't
know
if
he's
gonna,
let
me
stay
there,
but
Tufts
he
it's
there
and
as
we
get
closer,
we
have
a
close-up
of
the
ferry
and
we're
coming
into
the
ferry
terminal
now,
which
is
still
by
Carlos
Alan's
grocery
store.
A
But
let's
and
and
not
everybody
of
course
was
into
this
new
ferry
service.
Some
people
still
rode
across
the
river
on
their
own
and
others
sailed,
but
as
we
come
back
in
to
fame
Street,
let's
imagine
ourselves
now
walking
south
on
Thames
Street.
This
is
the
building
which
I'm
sure
most
of
you
know
today,
because
it's
Paul's
pasta.
A
It
was
in
the
most
of
its
life.
It
was
a
either
a
tailor
shop
or
a
dry
goods
store,
which
it
still
was
when
I
came
to
Groton
in
the
70s
or
in
or
was
in
there
in
that
70s
I
should
say
this
is
an
earlier
photo.
The
street
is
the
O'brien
residence.
A
large
house
still
there
today
and
back
up
here
on
the
hill
is
the
house
of
captain
Jason
Randall.
He
was
a
quite
wealthy
captain.
A
Making
his
money
in
the
trading
of
coal
and
other
commodities
had
a
ship
over
in
New
London
that
he
could
easily
keep
an
eye
on
from
the
windows
of
his
house
being
up
there
on
the
hill
going
north
on
Thames
Street.
This
building,
which
is
the
submarine
Memorial
Association
today
used
to
be
the
post
office.
You
can
see
those
trolley
tracks
which
I
talked
about
earlier.
A
The
going
to
Pequannock
Horace's
house
is
here,
but
there's
a
bunch
of
other
houses
that
before
we
get
there,
the
Groton
grain
company
was
an
important
business
in
the
transportation
days.
If
you
had
to
feed
those
horses-
and
this
is
the
crew
that
ran
it,
south
of
that
was
the
think-
the
Groton
hotel.
A
It's
still
there
today
and
then
Thames
Street
became
residential
with
a
number
of
houses
going
on
south
of
that,
and
this
is
Latham
Street
again,
the
beneath
Sir
Avery
house,
the
Bishop
Seabury
Memorial
Church,
which
is
at
the
corner
of
Fort
Street,
the
residents
of
William
H
minor,
another
wealthy
businessman.
This
has
been
incorporated
in
his
part
of
the
biles
memorial
home
today
and
in
1900,
the
city
of
course,
or
the
borough
of
Groton
had
formed
in
1903,
and
this
was
the
first
beginnings
of
the
utilities
operation
in
Groton.
A
A
Our
selves
to
do
that
and
the
rest
of
the
town
won't
have
to
pay
for
it
and
that's
what
happened
and
the
borough
of
Groton
led
to
the
city
of
Groton,
and
now
the
city
utilities
are
quite
a
large
operation,
that's
water
to
fishers,
island
and
Ledyard,
and
and
are
the
water
but
electricity
to
fishers,
island
and
other
places.
So
anyway,
this
is
the
beginnings
of
some
of
that
city
utilities,
operation,
whoops,.
A
I
just
continue
on
the
through
the
rubble
here
on
Thames
Street
and
we
reached
the
railroad
bridge
again,
but
now
there
are
two
bridges
and
we're.
In
the
year
1919
a
new
railroad
bridge
was
put
in
and
the
original
railroad
was
converted
into
an
auto
and
trolley
bridge
that
it
was
is,
it
was
resurfaced,
and
this
is
what
it
looked
like
and
it
came
right
out
on
to
bridge
Street
in.
Hence
the
name
Bridge
Street,
that
is
the
traffic,
came
right
into
Groton
Bank.
A
Everybody
was
taking
their
car
over
the
bridge
by
then
and
car
traffic,
of
course,
increased
and
increased
in
the
go.
The
original
of
the
Goldstar
bridge
was
completed
and
dedicated
in
1943
in
the
middle
of
World
War.
Two
that
bridge
had
a
big
impact
on
business
in
Thames,
Street
or
at
least
I
believe
it
did
in
that
now.
The
traffic
which
had
come
down
on
to
bridge
in
Thane
Street
was
automatically
funneled
off
in
the
direction
of
Long
Hill
Road,
because
the
bridge
was
much
higher.
A
It
was
further
north
it
extended
out
further
and,
as
a
result,
the
love
that,
with
the
traffic
going
in
that
direction,
the
shopping
centers
began
to
develop
in
that
area
and
the
business
that
was
so
vibrant
on
Thames
Street
prior
to
World,
War
Two
began
to
decline.
Now,
of
course,
we'd
love
to
see
that
revived
in
some
reasonable
way
today,
but
in
some
sense,
as
we
can
be
thankful
that
the
bridge
was
where
it
is
because
if
it
had
come
right
into
this
spot,
Groton
Bank
would
have
probably
been
obliterated
by
clover
leaves.
A
There
were
a
number
of,
and
what
I
won't
dwell
on
this
there,
a
number
of
very
faint,
quite
famous
citizens
who
lived
into
this
little
area
over
the
years.
I've
mentioned
some
of
them
already
Esquire
Ebenezer
Ledyard
was
the
man
who
negotiated
with
the
British
for
the
release
of
prisoners
and
so
forth.
He's
the
brother
of
the
colonel
who
was
killed
ledger
the
traveler
was
a
worldwide
traveler
that
wrote
a
lot.
A
We
talked
about
mother
Bayley
noise
and
there
were
a
series
of
sea
captain's
that
lived
up
on
the
hill
I'm
going
to
talk
some
more
about
these.
In
a
minute
we
talked
about
Morgan
and
Allen,
who
had
the
who
set
national
whaling
records
in
their
day,
the
budding
tons
and
and
so
forth.
Robert
Gray
was
a
civil
war
hero
who
lived
on
Groton
Bank,
receiving
the
medal
of
honor
in
the
Civil
of
War,
and
there
is
a
statue
that
he,
as
he
has
had
placed
up
near
the
monument
house
on
Fort
Griswold
grounds.
A
This
was
back
at
the
Civil
War
time,
Hubbard
de
Morgan,
a
famous
businessmen,
frederick
bill,
who
was
a
retired
businessman
philanthropist,
who
gave
not
only
the
bill
library
but
the
school
of
bill,
Hall
at
Connecticut,
College
and
so
forth,
and
a
beedi
Slocum,
who
was
the
designer
of
the
Connecticut
state
flag
and
also
a
fairly
active
gal
in
her
own
right.
But
these
are
just
a
sampling
of
of
what
this
neighborhood
was
like
in
this
1800s
in
late
1700s.
A
B
A
I'll
explain
it
well
now.
Obviously
explain
it
right
now
they
were
took
the
best
of
our
knowledge
related,
but
Sydney,
o
buddington
spelled
it
with
one
D
and
the
others
spelled
it
with
two
now.
Maybe
there
were
others
that
and
the
family
I
don't
know,
but
among
this
group
of
people.
Yes,
that
is
a
deliberate
difference.
A
A
A
A
little
bit
down
to
the
Joseph
Latham
house
will
come
back
north
on
monument
street
a
little
bit
on
Broad
Street
come
back
down,
Ramsdale
Street,
which
wasn't
even
there
in
1868
and
then
make
us
quick
run
for
the
fort,
where
there's
some
things
happening,
that
we
want
to
get
there
in
time
for
it
so
quickly.
If
you
went
that
looked
up,
Latham
Street!
This
is
what
you
saw
at
the
top
was
the
dr.
Winship
residence.
This
is
the
house
which
has
been
modified
but
is
still
there
today,
but
it
didn't
always
look
like
that.
A
A
Does
a
federal
style
house
this
is
directly
across
the
street
from
the
monument
and
but
this
was
the
back
door
of
the
house.
Monument
Street.
Wasn't
there
when
this
house
was
built,
the
access
was
up,
Latham
Street,
the
way
we
came
and
if
William
Smith
looked
out
his
back
door.
This
is
what
he
saw:
Groton
Mount
in
1850
there
abouts
the
Groton
monument.
There
was
no
pyramid
a
little.
What
do
I
want
to
say
pyramidal
top
on
it.
You
see
it's
just
a
open
balustrade.
A
A
Today,
10
to
15
years
later,
whoops
oops
wrong
way
10
to
15
years
later.
This
is
what
it
looked
like.
Look
at
all
the
houses
in
there.
Well,
the
Eastern
shipbuilding
had
come
in.
They
had
built,
they
were
building
those
big
ships,
the
Minnesota
and
the
Dakota,
and
there
were
quarries
and
other
types
of
businesses
down
in
this
area.
A
C
A
A
A
A
Oh
it's
on
high
school,
and
so
the
family
gave
a
very
sizable
amount
of
money
to
the
town
to
build
its
first
high
school,
of
course,
under
the
condition
that
it
would
be
named
after
their
late
son,
Robert,
E
Fitch,
and
they
lived
right
here
on
School
Street
in
this
house.
The
marc
watts,
who
were
builders
lived
here
and
cat.
A
This
is
the
captain
Jason
Randall
house
that
I
mentioned
earlier,
we'll
come
back
to
it,
the
tower
of
the
Baptist
Church
off
in
the
distance,
and
so
we're
gonna
do
quickly
scoops
I'm
going
the
wrong
way
quickly
stroll
through.
Here
we
come
back
down.
This
is
what
monument
Street
looked
like.
The
city
utilities
hadn't
made
it
up
here,
yet
we're
still
dirt
the
bill
library
which
was
enlarged
in
1905,
but
the
grammar
school
was
there
now
Frederic
I
should
say
when
the
bill
library
was
donated
in
1890.
A
To
my
knowledge,
this
was
the
first
library
building
in
the
town
of
Groton.
Mystique
no
ink
was
a
couple
years
later
and
the
town
didn't
have
a
library
like
this.
At
that
time,
the
library
whoops
I'm
going
around
the
library
was
enlarged.
In
1905
we
still
had
the
wooden
grammar
school
and
mr.
bill
felt
that
we
should
have
another
a
newer
school
and
in
that's
a
close
up
of
the
grammar
school
and
so
in
1912.
He
donated
a
school
too,
and
he
also
donated
Bill
Hall
at
Connecticut
College,
and
this
guy
made
his
money.
A
Alijah
minor
house,
he
was
a
architect
in
home
builder
on
Groton
Bank,
Hubbard,
D
Morgan,
a
another.
Prominent
businessmen
listed
he
quite
well-known
another
picture
of
his
house
down
on
the
further
down
on
School
Street.
This
is
the
building
that
the
sub
Betts
is
in
today,
but
this
was
grotton's
First
Union
Hall,
the
ancient
order
of
the
United
workman's
Hall.
If
it
was
a
Union
Hall,
but
it
was
a
workers
hall
erected
in
1895,
going
back
up
school
Street
to
the
Morgan
house
and
will
turn
left
and
go
on
monument
street.
A
Another
picture
of
the
front
facade
the
window
in
this
church
was
donated
largely
by
john
d
rockefeller,
because
his
mother
or
grandmother
was
an
Avery.
The
Avery
family
was
one
of
the
founding
family.
Was
the
founding
family
of
the
church
across
the
street?
Was
Deacon
Thomas
miner,
who
was
a
group
a
wealthy
Groton
businessman?
A
I
wanted
to
show
if
just
beyond
this
house
was
the
Joseph
Latham
house,
but
that
slide
got
maximus,
stop
somewhere
the
this
house
coming
back
now
you
turn
around
and
come
back
along
the
side
of
the
church.
Here
back
to
monument
Street
and
turn
to
the
right.
You
see
the
captain
reuben
kelly
house.
He
was
another
famous
whaling
captain,
but
he
sailed
out
of
New
Bedford
and
next
north
of
his
house,
which
you
can
barely
see
here,
was
the
James
Monroe
buddington
house.
Now
you
need
to
with
these
budding
Tain's.
A
You
gotta
pay
attention
to
those
letters,
because
if
it's
1d
or
2d
Zoar
what
the
middle
initial
is
and
so
forth,
but
you've
probably
seen
the
write-up
on
the
White
House
desk
in
the
Terr
Centennial
calendar,
and
although
Captain
buddington
was
born
in
Center
Groton
in
his
career,
he
lived
in
Groton
Bank.
He
lived
in
this
house
in
on
monument
Street
at
the
time
that
the
voyage
was
made
to
rescue
the
British
ship,
the
resolute
and
as
the
store
I.
A
A
A
He
came
back
in
1909
without
any
whales,
and
that
ended
the
whaling
era,
although
he
did
have
other
cargo
next
north
was
the
house
of
Captain
Evan,
easer,
Rattler
Morgan,
who
we
mentioned
earlier
still
there.
This
is
a
newer
picture
of
it,
but
and
it's
it's
a
big
house.
You
can't
see
it
with
all
the
trees
here
and
Captain
Morgan
lived
in
this
house
on
Broad
Street
before
his
big
whaling
voyage.
This
was
his
first
house.
He
lived
here
in
the
1850s
after
the
whaling
voyage.
A
He
moved
to
monument
Street
where
he
lived
for
another
twenty.
Some
years
there,
another
captain,
buddington
Waterman,
Z
buddington,
built
this
house
on
Broad
Street
in
1844,
a
Greek
Revival.
At
the
time
this
house
was
built.
He
had
a
10
acre
lot
because
there
was
nothing
on
monument
street
in
1844,
10
acres.
He
owned
10
acres
around
this
house
in
1844
across
the
street
from
him
in
later
in
the
1870s
Carlos
Allen.
Remember:
Carlos
is
the
guy
who
had
the
ferry
block
down
on
Thames
Street
the
grocery
store
da-da-da-dah.
A
A
And
so
forth,
and
the
old
fire
station
was,
at
the
end
of
the
street
and
Captain
reuben
kelly,
the
guy,
who
sailed
out
of
new
bedford,
even
built
a
little
Greek
Revival
down
here,
just
for
his
mom
and
back
up
to
the
fort.
Now
and
let's
wind
this
up
before
it
gets
too
late
in
1911,
there
was
a
dedication
of
these
new
gates
at
the
fort.
A
The
state
had
built
these
in
the
wall
around
it,
and
that
was
a
big
occasion
to
come
to
look
at
all
the
people
that
came
to
dedicate
these
gates
and
even
the
US
President
was
there
I'm
told
I
think
was
Taft
at
the
time
and
probably
somewhere
in
this
group.
If
anybody
knows
who
he
is,
let
me
know:
I,
don't
I
think
he
was
a
pretty
hefty
guy
as
I
recall,
this
guy
look
slender
again
on
our
1911
here,
but
look
at
this
picture.
A
A
We
use
the
southern
part
of
the
fort
as
the
stage
because
the
British
in
history
came
over
the
southern
wall
on
the
third
assault
and
the
northern
part
of
the
fort
was
used
as
the
auditorium
seating
or
standing
area
in
this
case,
and
just
to
bring
you
up
to
get
a
modern-day
feeling,
so
you
don't
get
hit
by
a
horse
when
you
leave
here,
let's
go
to
color,
and
here
you
see
the
British
coming
up
the
assault
scaling
the
wall
pretty
pretty
rough
times
there.
Many
of
our
colonists
were
killed
and.
A
A
A
Shipbuilding
has
been
there
for
300
years
or
more
defense
for
at
least
200
years
center
of
business
and
commerce
for
nearly
three
centuries,
at
least
until
the
World
War
two
period,
and
then
it
moved
elsewhere
and,
of
course,
the
transportation
center
in
it.
That
was
the
conversion
point
of
ferries
and
railroads
and
roads
and
things
so
the
history
of
Groton
Bank
really
represents
what
I
consider
to
be
the
roots
of
the
history
of
present-day
Groton,
and
the
nice
thing
about
it
is
much
of
our
old
village
still
remains
intact
today.