Historical plaques

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Historic Groton Bank houses and buildings more than 75 years old are eligible for plaques when research determines their first permanent owner (not necessarily the builder) and the year (usually within a 6 year span) that it was built.  The Groton Bank Historical Association's plaques are an oval shape with a silhouette  of a Revolutionary War soldier at the top, the name of the original permanent occupant in the middle, and the year it was constructed below that.  Just the year appears on the plaque if it is determined plus or minus one year. Circa, c., is used if the date is generally known plus or minus three years.

Most Groton Bank houses and other structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  They are eligible for plaques designating that.  Plaques, like the one pictured to the right, are available from several commercial sources.

1717, Joseph Latham, 58 Meridian Street, Colonial Cape Cod. Home of Patrick Ward, defender of Fort Griswold on Sept 6, 1781.

c. 1754, Ensign Ebenezer Avery, Fort Street on Fort Griswold grounds. Center-chimney colonial. Home of Fort Griswold defender Ensign Ebenezer Avery, used as a "hospital" on Sept 6, 1781 to treat wounded.

1781, Parke Avery, 137 Thames Street. Originally a Cape Cod Colonial modified to Victorian. Avery was a builder of Fort Griswold and a defender on Sept 6, 1781.

1782, Dr. Amos Prentice and "Mother Bailey", 108 Thames Street, Center hall Colonial. Dr. Prentice tended the wounded at Fort Griswold on Sept 6, 1781 and was assisted by Anna Warner Bailey, who was also a heroine of the War of 1812.

1787, Captain Rufus Avery, 142 Thames Street, center-hall Colonial. Rufus Avery was on duty at Fort Griswold the morning of Sept 6, 1781 and the first to sight the British fleet off our coast.

1793, Jonathan Leeds, 190 Thames Street, Combination of Colonial, Greek Revival and Victorian. Rear of the house is Colonial with more modern additions in front.

1810, Major Noyes Barber, 88 Thames Street, Colonial. Barber, a businessman, was a major in the War of 1812 and elected member of Congress from 1821-1835.

1842, Deacon William P. Harris, 65 Broad Street, Greek Revival with Victorian additions.

c. 1843, Charles Cook, 55 Broad Street, Greek Revival.

1844, Isaac C. Amidon, 29 Broad Street. Ship carpenter and delegate to Connecticut Assembly in 1858.

1844, Capt. Waterman Z. Buddington, 91 Broad Street, Greek Revival. Buddington was and early whaling captain.

c. 1848, Eli Edgecomb, 45 Broad Street, Greek Revival. Eli Edgecomb was a house carpenter.

1850, Charles L. Fenner, 99 Broad Street, Greek Revival.

1851, Capt. Ebenezer "Rattler" Morgan, 115 Broad Street, Federal style. This was Capt. Morgan's house on Groton Bank before his record setting whaling voyage, after which he moved to Monument Street in the 1860s.  The house was built by Groton Bank architect and builder, Elisha Miner

1851, William M. Gray, 81 Broad Street, Greek Revival. Wm. Gray was a merchant owning a store on the west side of Thames Street at the foot of Broad Street.

1854, Capt. James Monroe Buddington, 149 Monument Street, Greek Revival with later Victorian addition. Capt. J. M. Buddington became internationally known for his rescue of the British ship HMS Resolute in 1855, from which the President's desk in the Oval Office was later made.  The house was built by Jesse D. Smith, a Groton Bank house builder.