The story
Read it all →How Groton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Groton.
Some say the town was named after Groton, Massachusetts, while others believe it was named after Groton, Connecticut.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Groton
Groton’s post office opened in 1832, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 6 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1790.
1832first post office
4on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Quick answers
How Groton began
When was Groton founded?
1832
The Groton post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Ricker Mills (1893) and Westville (1893), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 45 in 17902020 census: 984194 years
Founding year: the first Groton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Groton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Groton, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1832: 194 years of Groton.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Groton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Groton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Groton’s post office has been open since 1832. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Groton
Ricker Mills
Westville
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
LakesideRicker MillsWest Groton
Gone or out of use
Bonazzi QuarrymineSouth Groton Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Groton
Groton VillageHeathWestville
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Groton, 1809 to 1940
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1809
Born hereMary Ann Frost Stearns Pratt is born here - 1832Post officeThe Groton post office opens
- 1839
Born hereWilliam Scott is born here - 1893Post officeThe Ricker Mills post office opens
- 1893Post officeThe Westville post office opens
- 1897
In the archiveFMIB 33345 Two Views of Trap at Groton, Vermont, 1897 - 20th century
- 1904Post officeThe Westville post office closes
- 1935
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1938
BuiltRicker Pond State Park is built - 1940Post officeThe Ricker Mills post office closes
By decade
Groton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumToday10 recent
2016GrotonVT CommunityBuilding
2016GrotonVT AliceLordGoodineHouse
2016First Baptist Church US Route 302 Groton VT August 20…
2014Vermont Route 232 south terminus US302
2014Groton VT Sign US302
2014Groton VT CDP on US302
2008VT 232 approaching US 302
2007NUEVA INGLATERRA OTOÑAL
2007Groton, Vermont Post Office
2004Groton vt highlightOn the map
Groton on the map, 1935 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Groton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1935Woodsville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Groton.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewFMIB 33345 Two Views of Trap at Groton, Vermont, 1897, 1897
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Groton’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
4 historic places in Groton
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Ricker Pond State Park
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
CCC State Park2
Colonial Revival2
Greek Revival1
Queen Anne1
Victorian1
Commercial1
Ricker Pond State ParkCCC State Park · Built 1938
Stillwater State ParkCCC State Park
Alice Lord Goodine HouseGreek Revival
J.R. Darling StoreVictorian
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Groton, census by census
Between 45 and 1,059 people in every census since 1790.
24 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Groton’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Groton
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Groton’s history
What year was Groton founded?
The Groton post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Groton?
4 listings: 2 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Ricker Pond State Park and the Stillwater State Park, with 6 contributing buildings. 9 historic buildings in all.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.