FROM THE HISTORIAN’S DESK, September 2025 – Carol Ganz.

It’s September 1725.  The residents of the northern part of Groton are busy beginning the harvest, getting in wood for the winter, and wondering if their petition will be granted.  Three men sent by the General Assembly have been gathering information, checking distances and asking financial questions.  They aren’t saying what their report and recommendation will be, but they are being pleasant and thorough.  We hope we’ll get good news next month and will be able to begin setting up an ecclesiastical society before winter, making plans for a new church closer to home.

This is not a new community, but we’re scattered around the area.  The Allyns have been living along the river at Allyn’s Point for almost 75 years.  At first, of course, services were in New London, which was almost as easy for them as getting to Groton, at least in good boating weather.  Farther from the water, the Geers, Morgans, Averys and others have been here almost as long and are well established, and more families have arrived since then.   

The Revolutionary War is a half century in the future and our residents are subjects of the king of England, although Connecticut already possesses more independence than most colonies, electing their own governor and generally running their own affairs.  This freedom does not extend to religion, as Connecticut recognizes the Congregational Church as the official church, and regulates the establishment of new parishes.  If we receive permission for an ecclesiastical society, it will have the responsibility of finding a minister and building a meetinghouse, and will have the right to tax the population for those expenses.

Let’s leap forward to 2025, the 300th anniversary of that time.  We are about to begin a year of celebration of those events in 1725 and the decision that resulted in a new church as well as the society that became Ledyard many years later.  The opening event will bring back a tradition from much later in our history, a “Bill Dinner,” which was THE social event in town annually for at least 4 decades, starting in 1897 when the new library building was dedicated.  Bill dinners traditionally involved a clam chowder dinner, then music and historical lectures, etc. in the meetinghouse.  

Join us at Holdridge Pavilion on Saturday, September 20, at 1 p.m., as we celebrate with a meal of chowder, sandwiches and dessert, followed by period music and a re-telling of North Groton’s part in the Battle of Fort Griswold, a Revolutionary War event close to home.