A few months ago, during a historical presentation outlining several past and present Groton landmarks, I displayed a photograph of the old, two-story, wooden building that once stood on the top of Fort Hill in the area where the old Merritt Farm was located. Those in attendance were amazed to learn that the structure was the first “official” meeting hall for the Town of Groton.

The building, depicted in the photograph accompanying this article, was built in 1785. It was primary used by the early settlers of Mystic and Noank as a meeting house for worship and also as a central location where they could enjoy the fellowship of their friends as they gathered together weekly. It was known as the Fort Hill Second Baptist Church.

The church was used by residents of Mystic until 1831 when they withdrew to attend the place of worship they had constructed in Mystic Village.

Then, in 1843, when a new Baptist church was opened in Noank and the new Groton Heights Baptist Church was organized, both Noankers and Groton Bank members withdrew from the Fort Hill church. Shortly thereafter it was decided to abandon the old church building.

In January 1845, the Town of Groton voted to purchase the building for town purposes. The purchase price was $225. The town remodeled the building and converted the upper floor as a tenement.

Interestingly, although the vote to acquire the building was 149 to 64, many of those who voted against the purchase expressed concerns that because the building had been a church for years, it was “sacred as a shrine” and “using it for town purposes was somewhat of a desecration.”

The town regularly held meetings in the building for the next 63 years.

But the old Fort Hill Meeting Hall was not used for storage of town records. Historically, Town of Groton records and deeds, dating back to 1703, were maintained and stored at the home of each elected town clerk.

This practice continued until the tragic fire of the “Hive of the Averys” in the Dark Hollow section of Poquonnock Plains in July 1894. The “Hive,” which was built in 1656, had been the home of eight generations of Groton Averys and, at the time of the fire, was occupied by James D. Avery, the clerk of the Town of Groton.

On the night of the fire, a train traveling on tracks close to the house spewed sparks on the roof of the house, starting a fire. Within 40 minutes, the house was reduced to ashes.

Avery quickly gathered and secured town records inside two metal safes in the house and also carried several outside the house. The quick thinking and actions of Avery resulted in saving most of the town’s land records.

Nelson Morgan, who was subsequently elected Town Clerk in late 1895 and remained in that position until his death in 1907, maintained the town’s records inside a small stand along the “town clerk and land records” building next to his home on the corner of North Road and Fort Hill Road.

In 1905, due to disrepair, the building was abandoned and no longer used by the town, which subsequently held its meeting at Noank’s Third District Hall.

Fortunately for the town, in October 1907, Groton philanthropist Morton F. Plant offered to build, at his expense, a new building to house the offices of the town clerk, the judge of probate, and offices of the selectmen. Plant desired that the building would also “provide space sufficient for the holding of town meetings”; a large public meeting room.

The only condition that Plant placed on his offer required the town to purchase the property on which the building would be situated and deed the property to him. He also asked to have the building physically located in Poquonnock Bridge in the vicinity of where the clerk’s office [then Morgan] was.

On Sept. 17, 1908, less than one year later, the new and modern Town Hall building was dedicated. The total construction cost for the building, paid for by Mr. Plant, was $24,000, which by today’s standards would be close to $5 million.

For many years the spaces at the Town Hall were sufficient for the centralized operation of the town’s departments. In the 1940s, as Groton’s population increased dramatically, the size of governmental responsibilities and operations grew proportionately. Over the years there have been several additions and modifications made to the original Town Hall. As an example, for many years the town’s police department maintained its facilities in the basement area of the building. The large meeting room/council chambers doubled as one of New London County’s court rooms.

Beginning in the early 1960s and continuing for the next 30 years or so, the town has constructed and modernized facilities to house governmental operations which were once housed in Town Hall.

The police, public works and planning and zoning and economic development departments were among those that moved from Town Hall. Most of these facilities were built on town property located at the top of Fort Hill.

In the late 1990s, additions were made to the Public Works building on the top of Fort Hill to include three community rooms, one of which is commonly used for the town council meeting and public hearings. The building containing these meeting rooms is referred to as the “Town Hall Annex.”

Ironically, the building where the public meeting rooms are today is physically located not too far from where the original “Town Meeting House” once was.

Needless to say, the Town of Groton has considered citizen participation an important and integral part of its government and, as such, has provided adequate meeting facilities for the exchange and expression of opinions and ideas.

Jim Streeter is the Groton town historian.