GROTON, a town of New London county, Connecticut, on the east bank of the Thames river, opposite New London. It is served by the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad. The population was 9,227 in 192o, and was 10,77o in 193o by the Federal census. It is a residential suburb and has shipbuilding yards, a thread mill and fishing industries, and is a base for U.S. submarines. The town was settled about 165o and incorporated in 1704.