Groton is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in northwestern
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Middlesex County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populou ...
, United States, within the
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...
metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the
2020 census. An affluent
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
roughly 45 miles from Boston, Groton has a large population of professional workers, many of whom work in
Boston's tech industry. It is loosely connected to Boston by highways (
Route 2) and commuter rail (the
MBTA Fitchburg Line).
The town has a long history dating back to the colonial era. It was a battlefield in
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...
and
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) or the Third Indian War was one in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Gr ...
, and several Grotonians played notable roles in the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
(including
William Prescott, the American commander at the
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...
) and
Shays' Rebellion
Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both in ...
. Groton is home to two
college-preparatory
A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...
boarding schools:
Lawrence Academy at Groton
Lawrence Academy at Groton is a private, nonsectarian, co-educational college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Founded in 1792 as Groton Academy and chartered in 1793 by Governor John Hancock, Lawrence is the tenth ...
, founded in 1792; and
Groton School
Groton School is a Private school, private, college-preparatory school, college-preparatory, day school, day and boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcop ...
, founded in 1884. Notable Groton residents include former U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
, sports writers
Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American media personality and recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Early life and education
Gammons was bo ...
and
Dan Shaughnessy, and NBC political correspondent
Steve Kornacki.
History
Early frontier settlement
The area surrounding modern-day Groton has, for thousands of years, been the territory of various cultures of
indigenous peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
. They settled along the rivers, which they used for domestic tasks, fishing and transportation. Historic tribes were the
Algonquian-speaking
Nipmuc
The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian languages, Eastern Algonquian language, probably the Loup language. Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the f ...
and
Nashaway Indians, who established trails connecting the area to
Massachusetts Bay
Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of Massachusetts.
Description
The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its northern and sout ...
.
The European presence in the era began when John Tinker established a
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
with the Nashaway tribe at the confluence of Nod Brook and the
Nashua River. The Nashaway called the area ''Petapawag'', meaning "swampy land." Over the years, more European settlers moved to the area, as it was productive for
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
and
farming
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
.
In 1655, the town of Groton was officially settled and incorporated by a group of selectmen including
Deane Winthrop. The town was named for
Groton in
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, the hometown of Deane's father, the Massachusetts governor
John Winthrop
John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...
. Called ''The Plantation of Groton'', it included all of present-day Groton and
Ayer, almost all of
Pepperell and
Shirley, large parts of
Dunstable,
Littleton, and
Tyngsborough, smaller parts of
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
and
Westford, and the New Hampshire towns of
Nashua and
Hollis.
During
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...
, when English colonists and Native Americans tried to destroy each other, on March 13, 1676, Native Americans raided and burned all buildings except for four Groton
garrisons.
Among those killed was John Nutting, a Groton
Selectman. Survivors fled to
Concord and other safe havens. Two years later, many returned to rebuild.
The rebuilt town was heavily militarized, and recorded a garrison of 91 men in 1692.
In 1694, Abenaki warriors attacked the town again during the
Raid on Groton (during
King William's War
King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...
).
Lydia Longley and two of her siblings were taken captive; the rest of their family was killed. Lydia was taken to
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
where she was ransomed, converted to Catholicism, and joined the
Congregation of Notre Dame, a non-cloistered order.
In 1704, during
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) or the Third Indian War was one in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Gr ...
, an Abenaki raiding party kidnapped
Matthias Farnsworth III from his home and brought him to Montreal.
In June 1707,
Abenaki
The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...
warriors abducted three children of the large family of Thomas Tarbell and his wife Elizabeth (Wood), cousins to the Longleys who were abducted in 1694. The raiders took them overland and by water to the
Mohawk mission village of
Kahnawake
The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, across from Montreal. Establi ...
(also spelled Caughnawaga) south of
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
. The two Tarbell boys, John and Zachariah, were adopted by Mohawk families and became fully assimilated. They later each married chiefs' daughters, had families, and became respected chiefs themselves.
[John Demos, ''The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America'', New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994, pp. 186 and 224] They were among the founders in the 1750s of
Akwesasne
The Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne ( ; ; ) is a Mohawk Nation (''Kanienʼkehá:ka'') territory that straddles the intersection of international (United States and Canada) borders and provincial (Ontario and Quebec) boundaries on both banks of the St ...
, after moving up the St. Lawrence River from Kahnawake to escape the ill effects of traders. The brothers' older sister Sarah Tarbell was ransomed by a French family, and converted to Catholicism. Renamed as Marguerite, she followed Lydia Longley in joining the
Congregation of Notre Dame, and served with them for the rest of her life.
In the late nineteenth century, a plaque was installed about the Tarbell children at the site of the family's former farm in Groton. Descendants with the Tarbell surname are among the Mohawk living at Kahnewake and Akwesasne in the 21st century.
Revolutionary era and early republic

The townsfolk of Groton supported the
Patriot cause in the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. Following the
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...
, the town passed a resolution thanking Boston "for their wise, prudent and spirited conduct at this alarming crisis," and resolved to boycott the tea industry until duties on tea were lifted.
In 1775, local
minutemen
Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...
assembled on the
common
Common may refer to:
As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin.
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Com ...
in front of the First Parish Church of Groton before marching to the
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...
.
Groton sent 101 men to the battle, but they arrived too late to participate. The American commander at the
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...
,
William Prescott, was born in Groton, and Groton lost 10 or 12 men at the battle, more than any other town.
This patriotic feeling did not last very long, and a majority of Groton residents aligned with the rebels during
Shays' Rebellion
Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both in ...
.
Job Shattuck, a former
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
officer and Groton's largest landowner,
organized an early tax revolt in 1782. He escaped with a fine, but rose up again in 1786 and led a mob that shut down the Middlesex County Courthouse in
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...
.
He was captured by a search party that included some pro-government Groton residents. He was sentenced to death but pardoned by Governor
John Hancock
John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...
.
Early Groton developed a strong economy, assisted by its location near the confluence of the
Nashua and
Squannacook Rivers. By 1790 it was the second-largest town in Middlesex County, with 1,840 residents.
Agriculture was the backbone of the economy, but the town also welcomed industry. In the early 1800s, the Hollingsworth family (
Hollingsworth & Vose) acquired a paper mill in West Groton. In 1828, miners discovered a large soapstone quarry; Groton eventually hosted the nation's largest
soapstone
Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in sub ...
factory, which exported products as far away as China.
South Groton (Groton Junction, now
Ayer) was connected to railroad lines in the 1840s. One line survives as the
MBTA Fitchburg Line, the town's present-day commuter rail link to Boston.
African-Americans have lived in the area since at least the 1750s, when Primus Lew (father of
Barzillai Lew) bought a farm in the area. Private Pomp Phillis was called up to fight at Lexington and Concord. Historian
Jeremy Belknap
Jeremy Belknap (June 4, 1744 – June 20, 1798) was an American clergyman and historian. His great achievement was the ''History of New Hampshire'', published in three volumes between 1784 and 1792. This work is the first modern history written b ...
wrote that "a negro man belonging to Groton" fired the shot that killed Major
John Pitcairn
Major John Pitcairn (28 December 1722 – 17 June 1775) was a British military officer. Born in Dysart, Fife, he enlisted in the Chatham Marine Division of the British Naval Service at the age of 23. He served in North America during the Fr ...
at the
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...
.
Starting in the 1840s,
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
immigrants (mainly
Irish, but also some
French Canadians
French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...
) began moving to the
Nashoba Valley in large numbers. St. Mary's Catholic Church was established in 1858 to serve the Catholic residents of Ayer. Ayer split off from Groton in 1871, and in 1904, one of the local private schools donated Sacred Heart Church for the use of the Catholics who stayed in Groton proper.
Economic decline and social unrest
Groton's economic growth slowed in the second half of the nineteenth century. The soapstone quarry shut down in 1868.
The town's population nearly halved (3,584 to 1,862) from 1870 to 1880, although most of this was due to the 1871 secession of Ayer, which had 1,600 residents in 1870.
In the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, Groton's population was largely white and Christian; people have debated whether it was a
sundown town
Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...
.
The town became a center of the Second
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
, which was active in Massachusetts in the 1920s. This incarnation of the Klan expressed primarily
anti-Catholic
Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...
and anti-immigrant prejudice, while also opposing racial minorities. Local schoolmaster
Endicott Peabody summarized the movement as follows: "There is an astonishing tendency among some of the respectable people in this part of the world to justify
he Klan'sexistence on the ground that the Jews and Roman Catholics are taking possession of the country."
The Klan held a rally in Groton in September 1924.
In 1925, an Irish resident reported a
cross burning on Gibbet Hill, not far from Main Street. In October 1926, a group of 400 Klansmen were meeting in a field in the town when they were fired upon with
guns
A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be ...
used by a group of approximately 100 people opposed to the Klan; the police reported that over 100 gunshots were exchanged between the two groups, but no casualties were reported.
In 1927, the local Klan chapter endorsed a full slate of candidates for the town elections, with partial success. The Klan appears to have peaked as an organized force in the area by 1931, when Klan head
Hiram Wesley Evans visited
West Townsend to implore the remaining Klansmen to rebuild the local chapters. The rate of inter-confessional marriages, which decreased significantly from 1924 to 1928, began rising again starting in 1929.
In 2020, Groton unanimously approved a measure denouncing racial bigotry and advocating equality in recognition of earlier violence and the contemporary social justice movement.
Economic revival
Starting in the 1950s, the town of Groton enjoyed an economic revival as Boston's high-tech sector expanded along the
Route 128 beltway. Although Groton does not lie on Route 128, the gravity of the suburban beltway pulled exurban towns like Groton into Boston's economic orbit. The town attracted professional workers, and the population expanded rapidly, nearly quadrupling since 1950.
(A group led by
Marion Stoddart, the wife of one such technology worker, sponsored the cleanup of the Nashua River; previously, the river was so polluted with sludge that on some days, animals could run across it.) In 2021, Groton's per capita income
ranked 32nd out of 341 towns and cities in Massachusetts. In addition, as of 2015, 31 Groton residents reported incomes over $1 million. Town representatives describe Groton as a "
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
"
and "a relatively affluent town" where "
st residents are well-educated and hold high-paying professional, managerial, or other office jobs."
In the 21st century, the town has sought to preserve its rural character and to slow population growth; as of 2017, 42% of the town's 32.5 square miles of land was permanently protected from development. In the 2000s,
Geotel Communications founder Steven Webber purchased the 338-acre Gibbet Hill Farm to prevent residential development on the site; the town meeting reportedly greeted his intervention with a standing ovation. Town representatives state that they welcome tourists and seek to encourage "a constant trickle rather than a deluge of visitors."
In 2017, the town adopted the motto "All Are Welcome" and placed six waystones engraved with the motto on the major roads entering the town.
Although the town's policies have successfully slowed population growth, town amenities have generally improved. Gibbet Hill now hosts a
farm-to-table steakhouse. In 2017, the nation's largest
Shirdi Sai Baba temple opened in Groton; it cost approximately $11 million to build. The 126,000-square-foot Groton Hill Music Center opened in 2022 and includes a 1,000-seat (expandable to 2,300) concert hall, a 300-seat secondary performance hall, a professional orchestra, and a community music school; it was the gift of an anonymous donor, posthumously revealed to be
Sterilite owner
Albert Stone. The
Groton-Dunstable Regional School District is currently building a new $88.4 million campus for its elementary school, which is scheduled to open in 2024. However, the annual per-pupil expenditures in the 2022–23 school year were $19,392.35, just below the state average of $20,133.67, and in April 2024, voters rejected a proposed $7.6 million/3 year tax increase for the school district by a 3-to-2 margin.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, Groton has a total area of 33.7 square miles (87.3 km
2), of which 32.8 square miles (84.9 km
2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.4 km
2) (2.79%) is water. Groton is the largest town in Middlesex County in terms of square mileage. The town is drained by the
Nashua River,
Squannacook River, and
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...
.
The center of the town is dominated mainly by Gibbet Hill, with several other large hills throughout the town.
Groton is served by state routes
40,
111,
119 and
225. It borders the towns of
Pepperell,
Dunstable,
Tyngsborough,
Westford,
Littleton,
Ayer,
Shirley, and
Townsend.
Groton has a hot-summer
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(''Dfa'') bordering on ''Dfb'' and monthly averages range from in January to in July. The
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...
is 5b.
Climate
In a typical year, temperatures in Groton are below for 195 days per year. Annual precipitation is typically 45.7 inches per year (high in the US) and snow covers the ground 68 days per year, or 18.6% of the year (high for the US). It may be helpful to understand the yearly precipitation by imagining nine straight days of moderate rain per year. The humidity is below 60% for approximately 25.4 days, or 7% of the year.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 9,547 people, 3,268 households, and 2,568 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,393 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.22%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.35%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.13%
Native American, 0.97%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.27% from
other races, and 1.04% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.
There were 3,268 households, out of which 46.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. Of all households 17.1% were made up of individuals, and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.31.
The age distribution of the town's population was 32.6% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $118,041, and the median income for a family was $136,653. Males had a median income of $101,117 versus $60,402 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $44,756. About 1.1% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Sports
Groton annually hosts the National
Shepley Hill Horse Trials, an
equestrian competition. The Groton-Dunstable Crusaders high school boys and girls athletic teams also compete in the town.
Government
The town of Groton is governed by an open town meeting and administered by an elected five-member select board and appointed town manager.
The town has a large proportion of swing voters. 58.9% of Groton voters chose Republican
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
in the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 55.0% chose Republican
Scott Brown in the 2010 U.S. Senate election, and 53.8% chose Republican
Charlie Baker
Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...
in the 2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial election. By contrast, 50.8% of Groton voters chose Democrat
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, 63.9% chose Democrat
Ed Markey
Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...
in the 2020 U.S. Senate election,
and 67.2% chose Democrat
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Education
Public schools
District schools
* Boutwell School
* Florence Roche Elementary School
* Groton-Dunstable Regional Middle School
*
Groton-Dunstable Regional High School
Other public schools
*
Nashoba Valley Technical High School, Public Regional Vocational Technical High School located in
Westford
Private schools
* Groton Community School
*
Lawrence Academy (founded 1793 as Groton Academy)
*
Groton School
Groton School is a Private school, private, college-preparatory school, college-preparatory, day school, day and boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcop ...
(founded 1884)
Groton previously hosted Prescott Elementary School (1927–2008, now closed),
the Catholic Country Day School of the Holy Union (1949–2017, now closed), and the
Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture (1901–1945, merged with the
Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...
). The old
Groton High School building at 145 Main Street, which housed the Prescott Elementary School, is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
Points of interest
* Groton Historical Society & Museum
* Groton Public Library
*
Groton Hill Music Center
*
Gibbet Hill Castle
* The
Groton Inn
* Kalliroscope Gallery
* Autumn Hills Orchard
* Grotonwood Camp and Conference Center
* Groton School
* Lawrence Academy
Buildings and structures
*
Gov. George S. Boutwell House
*
Indian Hill House
Indian Hill House is a private residence named for the Indian Hills of Groton, Massachusetts, online aIndian Hill House Designed in 1962-63 by Maurice K. Smith, the house was built by Ralph S. Osmond & Sons.
The house appears in several architec ...
*
Groton Inn, burned down on the night of August 2, 2011, rebuilding was completed in 2018 with the reopening in May.
Conservation land
Over 30% of the land in Groton, Massachusetts is protected open space. The majority of this open space is accessible to the public. Groton also has over 100 miles of trails. Many of these trails can be walked and biked, others are available for hunting and/or camping. The trails are made and maintained by th
Groton Trail Committeeand the land itself is owned and managed by th
Groton Conservation TrustThe Groton Conservation Commission th
Massachusetts Audubon SocietyThe New England Forestry FoundationThe Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation an
The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game
Notable people
Government and politics
*
John P. Bigelow, mayor of Boston
*
Timothy Bigelow, speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
*
George Sewall Boutwell, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury; Governor of Massachusetts; U.S. Senator; U.S. Representative
*
Grafton D. Cushing, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
*
Samuel Dana, U.S. Representative
*
Timothy Fuller, U.S. Representative
*
Samuel Abbott Green, mayor of Boston
*
Richard John Kerry, diplomat; father of John and Cameron Kerry
*
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
, U.S. Secretary of State
*
Cameron Kerry, general counsel to the U.S. Department of Commerce
*
William M. Richardson, U.S. Representative
*
Ether Shepley, U.S. Senator (Maine)
*
Charles Warren Stone, U.S. Representative
*
Arthur H. Woods, New York City Police Commissioner
Military
*
Barzillai Lew, early African-American soldier during the American Revolution
*
Oliver Prescott, physician and Revolutionary-era militia general; co-founder of Lawrence Academy
*
William Prescott, commander of U.S. forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill
Business
*
Adolphus W. Green, founder of
Nabisco
Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Nabisco' ...
*
Abbott Lawrence, businessman; founder of
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen, Massachusetts, Methuen ...
*
Amos Lawrence, merchant and philanthropist
*
Amos Adams Lawrence, abolitionist; founder of the University of Kansas and Lawrence University
*
Samuel Lawrence, revolutionary; co-founder of Lawrence Academy
*
Simon Willard, colonist and fur trader
Religion
*
Samuel Dana, clergyman
*
Lucius Edwin Smith, journalist and theologian
Education
*
Charles William Bardeen
Charles William Bardeen (August 28, 1847 – August 19, 1924) was an American educator and publisher. He devoted his career to improve the education system of the United States. He was the father of Charles Russell Bardeen and grandfather of two- ...
, educator and publisher
*
Edward Saxton Payson, Esperantist, writer and translator
*
Endicott Peabody, founder of Groton School and
Brooks School
*
L. Hugh Sackett, archaeologist
*
Samuel Willard, acting president of Harvard University (1701–07)
*
Frank Bigelow Tarbell, professor of art history at the University of Chicago
Journalism
*
Margaret Fuller
Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movemen ...
, journalist, critic and women's rights activist
*
Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American media personality and recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Early life and education
Gammons was bo ...
, sportswriter
*
Steve Kornacki, political writer and TV host
*
Dan Shaughnessy, sportswriter and radio host
Art, sports, and entertainment
*
Andy Anderson, rowing coach for the U.S. national team and Groton School; member of the National Rowing Hall of Fame
*
Bill Camp, actor
*
J. Geils, founder of
The J. Geils Band
The J. Geils Band (formerly known as The J. Geils Blues Band) was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, h ...
*
Kevin Kastning, musician; composer; musical instrument inventor
*
Paul Matisse, artist and inventor
*
Shabazz Napier, basketball player
*
Lawrence M. Noble, hockey player
*
Shelley Olds
Shelley Olds (born September 30, 1980) is an American former professional racing cyclist.
Career
Olds was born and raised in Groton, Massachusetts. She studied health and human performance at Roanoke College in Virginia, and was captain of thei ...
, professional cyclist (
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
)
*
Otto Piene, artist
*
Edmund C. Tarbell, artist
*
Paul Zukauskas, football coach
Other
*
Kristen Gilbert, serial killer
*
Elizabeth Knapp, the Witch of Groton
*
Lydia Longley, "The First American Nun"
*
Job Shattuck, agitator during
Shays' Rebellion
Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both in ...
See also
*
List of sundown towns in the United States
References
Further reading
Samuel Abbott Green, ''Historical Sketch of Groton, Massachusetts. 1655–1890'' Groton: 1894
Wall & Gray, ''1871 Atlas of Massachusetts'' Map of Massachusetts.Map of Middlesex County
Samuel Adams Drake, ''History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts'', Vol. 2 (L–W)
1879–1880, pp. 505 and 572
Samuel A. Green, "Groton"
in Samuel Adams Drake, ''History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts'', Vol. 1, pp. 454–469.
External links
Town of Groton official websiteGroton Public Library
{{authority control
1655 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Sundown towns in the United States
Towns in Massachusetts
Towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts