NEW LONDON. A city, port of entry, and one of the county-seats of New London County, Conn., 14 miles south of Norwich, the other eounty-seat, and 51 miles 'act of New Haven: on the Thames River, about three ndles above its entrance into Long Island Sound, and on the New York, New Haven and Hartford and the Central 'Vermont railroads (Map: (Connecti cut, G I). It has direct eommunieation with New York by steamboat, and an expellent harbor defended by Forts Trumbull and Griswold. Just above the city, on the east side of the river, is a small United States naval station. New Lon don is a delightful place of residence and popular resort in summer. Among its features of interest are a fine soldiers' and sailors' monument, a handsome public library, the New London County Historical Society and Library, the Hempstead House, one of the oldest houses in Connecticut, the 01(1 Town Mill, erected in 1646 and still in operation, the little schoolhouse in which Nathan Ilale was a teacher, Boulder Park on the Thames, White Beach, a popular and attractive bathing beach, Williams Park, Memorial Park, and the great railroad drawbridge completed in 1890. The annual Vale-Harvard boat race is rowed on the Thames. New London was formerly the seat of extensive whaling and sealing interests, which are still of some hnportance, thimgh manufactur ing is the leading industry. The principal estab
lishments are silk mills, a woolen mill, ship yards, foundries and machine 4,hops, a cotton-gin factory, bed-quilt mills, and printing-press works. The government, under a charter of 1894, is ad ministered by a mayor, chosen every three years, and a unicameral council that controls elections to subordinate departments, excepting Hint of the schools, which is chosen by popular vote. The water works are owned and operated by the municipality. Population, in 1889, 13,757; in 1900, 17.548.
New London was founded in 1646 by John Winthrop, the younger, and until 1658, when it received its present name, was known as Nam meng. During the 'Great Awakening' of 1741 there was a remarkable manifestation of religious enthusiasm here. On September 6, 1781, General Arnold, at the head of a large British force, and assisted by a fleet of thirty-two vessels, attacked New London. killed a number of its inhabitants, and burned nearly all of the whalTeg and stores, (See GttoroN.) New London was incorporated in 1784. Consult: Caulkins. History of New Lo-n don (New London, new ed., 1900) : Starr, A Cen tennial Historical Sketch of the Town of New London (ib., 1876) ; and an article, "Historic New London," in New England .11agw:ine, vol. C. ( Boston, 1887).