Gales Ferry is a village in the town of Ledyard, Connecticut, United States. It is located along the eastern bank of the Thames River. The village developed as a result of having a ferry to Uncasville located at this site, and from which the village was named. Gales Ferry was listed as a census-designated place for the 2010 Census, with a population of 1,162. Much of the core of the original settlement at the site of the former ferry has been included in two separate historic districts, each with several farmstead buildings from the late colonial and early national periods (late 18th and early 19th century). The two historic districts are irregularly shaped, and are separated by a railroad cut and some non-contributing buildings. Several farmsteads that are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places are located close to Gales Ferry. These are the Nathan Lester House on Vinegar Hill Road, the Perkins-Bill House at 1040 Long Cove Road, and the Capt. Mark Stoddard Farmstead at 24 Vinegar Hill Road. Village The village is named for the ferry operated by Roger Gale at the current site of a Yale University crew training camp. Gales Ferry is part of the town of Ledyard, with its own post office (ZIP code 06335) and the Gales Ferry branch of the Ledyard library. The community has several neighborhoods, including The Village, Birdland, Christy Hills, Sherwood Forest, Glenwoods, and Presidential Estates. Gales Ferry also has its own volunteer fire department and a small marina. Much of the economic activity in the town revolves around Naval Submarine Base New London just to the south in Groton. The community has three schools: Juliet W. Long, which is Grades 3-6, the newer Gales Ferry school, which is K-2, and Ledyard Middle School, grade 7-8. They are located off the Thames River next door to each other. The former Gales Ferry School, located in Gales Ferry village, closed in 2001. In 2012, the town began using it as an incubator for local small businesses. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Gales Ferry has a total area of 1.23 mi2 (3.18 km2), of which 0.88 mi2 (2.27 km2) is land and 0.35 mi2 (0.91 km2), or 28.7%, is water. The Ferry The ferry which gave its name to the surrounding community of Gales Ferry was first established on the Thames in 1740. John Comstock, Ralph Stoddard Jr. and