Noank is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Groton in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,796 at the 2010 census. The original settlement in Noank along Elm Street (Route 215) and east of it towards Morgan Point is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2), of which 1.5 square miles (4.0 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.7 km2) (30.32%) is water. The CDP includes areas further west and north from the original village, extending as far west as Palmer Cove and as far north as U.S. Route 1.HistoryIn 1614, the area was known as Nauyang and was a summer camping ground of the Pequot people. The Pequots were taken under English protection in 1655 following the Pequot War. The land comprising Noank Peninsula was acquired by James Morgan through a lottery in 1712.In 1861, Charles Mallory and Elihu Spicer, Jr. established the C. H. Mallory and Company Steamship line. In 1879, Robert Palmer put steam railways into his shipbuilding plant in Noank. His company became one of the largest in the United States at the time for making wooden ships, building one thousand vessels ranging from fishing boats to sound steamers.
