The town of Ledyard was first settled in 1653. Originally part of New London, the town was later named for Colonel William Ledyard, Commander of Fort Griswold, who was killed on September 6, 1781 by Benedict Arnold's troops. Ledyard is now divided into the villages of Ledyard Center and Gales Ferry.

While much of Ledyard’s housing was built since the 1960s, many Colonial-era houses can be found along narrow, winding roads, including a number of well-preserved 18th-century farmsteads listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Gales Ferry Historic District is a 19th-century village on the banks of the Thames River.

The majority of the town's working population commutes to Norwich, New London and Groton. But within town borders is the region's largest employer, Foxwoods Resort Casino on the Mashantucket Pequot reservation.

For families, the Ledyard Parks and Recreation Department runs year-round programs, ranging from preschool playgrounds to tennis and aerobic classes. The department co-sponsors soccer, basketball, lacrosse and horseback riding summer camps.

Unique in its own respect, Gales Ferry is a town of great tradition. Each June, it hosts the Yale-Harvard regatta—at well over 100 years, the oldest intercollegiate sporting event in the country. The U.S. Navy subbase is also there, and many military personnel live nearby.

Gales Ferry is centrally located between Norwich and Groton, only 10 minutes from Pfizer, 15 minutes from Mystic Seaport and Aquarium, 15 minutes from the Misquamacut beaches. The area is known not only for its exquisite, inland Connecticut countryside, but also for the Thames River, regarded as one of the best fishing rivers in the United States.