New London, Connecticut

The area was called Nameaug by the Pequot Indians. John Winthrop, Jr. founded the first English settlement here in 1646, making it about the 13th town settled in Connecticut. Inhabitants informally referred to it as Nameaug or as Pequot after the tribe. In the 1650s, the colonists wanted to give the town the official name of London after London, England, but the Connecticut General Assembly wanted to name it Faire Harbour. The citizens protested, declaring that they would prefer it to be called Nameaug if it couldn't be officially named London.[4][5] The legislature relented, and the town was officially named New London on March 10, 1658.

The harbor was considered to be the best deep water harbor on Long Island Sound,[6] and consequently New London became a base of American naval operations during the American Revolutionary War. Famous New Londoners during the American Revolution include Nathan Hale, William Coit, Richard Douglass, Thomas and Nathaniel Shaw, Gen. Samuel Parsons, printer Timothy Green, and Bishop Samuel Seabury.

New London was raided and much of it burned to the ground on September 6, 1781 in the Battle of Groton Heights by Norwich native Benedict Arnold in an attempt to destroy the Revolutionary privateer fleet and supplies of goods and naval stores within the city. It is often noted that this raid on New London and Groton was intended to divert General George Washington and the French Army under Rochambeau from their march on Yorktown, Virginia. The main defensive fort for New London was Fort Griswold, located across the Thames River in Groton. It was well known to Arnold, who sold its secrets to the British fleet so that they could avoid its artillery fire. The British overran New London's Fort Trumbull, while other soldiers moved in to attack Ft. Griswold across the river, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Ledyard. The British suffered great casualties at Ft. Griswold before the Americans were finally forced to surrender—whereupon the British stormed into and slaughtered most of the militia who defended it, including Colonel Ledyard. All told, more than 52 British soldiers and 83 militia were killed, and more than 142 British and 39 militia were wounded, many mortally. New London suffered over 6 militia killed and 24 wounded, while Arnold and the British and Hessian raiding party suffered an equal amount.[7]

Connecticut's independent legislature made New London one of the first two cities brought from de facto to formalized incorporations in its January session of 1784, along with New Haven.

During the War of 1812, torpedoes were employed in attempts to destroy British vessels and protect American harbors. In fact, a submarine-deployed torpedo was used in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy HMS Ramillies while in New London's harbor. This prompted British Capt. Hardy to warn the Americans to cease efforts with the use of any "torpedo boat" in this "cruel and unheard-of warfare", or he would "order every house near the shore to be destroyed."[8]^:693

For several decades beginning in the early 19th century, New London was one of the three busiest whaling ports in the world, along with Nantucket and New Bedford, Massachusetts. The wealth that whaling brought into the city furnished the capital to fund much of the city's present architecture.

The New Haven and New London Railroad connected New London by rail to New Haven and points beyond by the 1850s. The Springfield and New London Railroad connected New London to Springfield, Massachusetts by the 1870s.

Several military installations have been part of New London's history, including the United States Coast Guard Academy and Coast Guard Station New London.[9] Most of these military installations have been located at Fort Trumbull. The first Fort Trumbull was an earthwork built 1775-1777 that took part in the Revolutionary War. The second Fort Trumbull was built 1839-1852 and still stands. By 1910, the fort's defensive function had been superseded by the new forts of the Endicott Program, primarily located on Fishers Island. The fort was turned over to the Revenue Cutter Service and became the Revenue Cutter Academy. The Revenue Cutter Service was merged into the United States Coast Guard in 1915, and the Academy relocated to its current site in 1932. During World War II, the Merchant Marine Officers Training School was located at Fort Trumbull. From 1950 to 1990, Fort Trumbull was the location for the Naval Underwater Sound Laboratory, which developed sonar and related systems for US Navy submarines. In 1990, the Sound Laboratory was merged with the Naval Underwater Systems Center in Newport, Rhode Island, and the New London facility was closed in 1996.[10][11]

The Naval Submarine Base New London is physically located in Groton, but submarines were stationed in New London from 1951 to 1991. The submarine tender Fulton and Submarine Squadron 10 were at State Pier in New London during this time. Squadron Ten was usually composed of eight to ten submarines and was the first all-nuclear submarine squadron. In the 1990s, State Pier was rebuilt as a container terminal. During the Red Summer of 1919, there were a series of racial riots between white and black Navy men stationed in New London and Groton.[12][13][14]

• Downtown New London
• Ocean Beach

Other minor communities and geographic features include Bates Woods Park, Fort Trumbull, Glenwood Park, Green's Harbor Beach, Mitchell's Woods, Pequot Colony, Riverside Park, Old Town Mill.

New London originally had a larger land area when it was established. Towns set off since include:

• Stonington in 1649
  • This large area ran from the Mystic River to the Pawcatuck River, including Pawcatuck, Wequetequock, and the easterly half of Mystic. It stretched inland from Long Island Sound to Lantern Hill.
• Groton in 1705
  • Ledyard (originally North Groton) created from a part of Groton in 1836
• Montville in 1786
  • Salem created from parts of Montville, Colchester, and Lyme in 1819
• Waterford in 1801
  • East Lyme created from parts of Waterford and Lyme in 1839
• Fishers Island officially left Connecticut and became part of New York in 1879.

New London has a Cfa or temperate climate in the Köppen climate classification, with long, hot and humid summers, and cool winters with modest snowfall. The city averages 2,300 hours of sunshine annually (higher than the USA average). New London lies in the broad transition zone between Continental climates (Köppen climate classification: Dfa) to the north, and Temperate climates (Köppen climate classification: cfa) to the south, as is typical for much of coastal Connecticut.

From May to late September, the southerly flow from the Bermuda High creates hot and humid tropical weather conditions. Daytime heating produces occasional thunderstorms with heavy but brief downpours. Daytime highs in summer are normally near 80 F, with occasional heat waves bringing high temperatures into the 90's F. Spring and Fall are mild in New London, with daytime highs in the 55 to 70 F range and lows in the 40 to 50 F range. The seaside location of the city creates a long growing season compared to areas inland. The first frost in the New London area is normally not until early November, almost three weeks later than parts of northern Connecticut. Winters are cool with a mix of rainfall and snowfall, or mixed precipitation. New London normally sees fewer than 25 days annually with snow cover. In mid-winter, there can be large differences in low temperatures between areas along the coastline and areas well inland, often as much as 15 F.

Tropical cyclones (hurricanes/tropical storms) have struck Connecticut and the New London metropolitan area, although infrequently. Hurricane landfalls have occurred along the Connecticut coast in 1903, 1938, 1944, 1954 (Carol), 1960 (Donna), 1985 (Gloria). Tropical Storm Irene (2011) also caused moderate damage along the Connecticut coast, as did Hurricane Sandy (which made landfall in New Jersey) in 2012.

Coastal Connecticut (including New London) is the broad transition zone where so-called "subtropical indicator" plants and other broadleaf evergreens can successfully be cultivated. New London averages about 90 days annually with freeze, about the same as Baltimore, Maryland. As such, Southern Magnolias, Needle Palms, Windmill palm, Loblolly Pines, and Crape Myrtles are grown in private and public gardens. The growing season is quite long in New London, like much of coastal Connecticut and Long Island, NY, averaging 210 days from April 8 to November 5.

According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, non-Hispanic whites made up 54.6% of New London's population. Non-Hispanic blacks made up 14.0% of the population. Asians of non-Hispanic origin made up 4.6% of the city's population. Multiracial individuals of non-Hispanic origin made up 4.3% of the population; people of mixed black and white ancestry made up 1.7% of the population. In addition, people of mixed black and Native American ancestry made up 1.0% of the population. People of mixed white and Native American ancestry made up 0.7% of the population; those of mixed white and Asian ancestry made up 0.4% of the populace. Hispanics and Latinos made up 21.9% of the population, of which 13.8% were Puerto Rican.[19]

The top five largest European ancestry groups were Italian (10.5%), Irish (9.7%), German (7.4%), English (6.8%) and Polish (5.0%)

According to the survey, 74.4% of people over the age of 5 spoke only English at home. Approximately 16.0% of the population spoke Spanish at home.[20]

In 2012, the population reached 27,700. The median household income was $44,100, with 20% of the population below the poverty line.

As of the census[21] of 2000, there were 25,671 people, 10,181 households, and 5,385 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,635.5 per square mile (1,789.8/km²). There were 11,560 housing units at an average density of 2,087.4 per square mile (805.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.5% White, 19.7% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 18.6% African American, 0.9% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 9.1% from other races, and 5.7% from two or more races.

There were 10,181 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.4% were married couples living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city, the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 17.6% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,809, and the median income for a family was $38,942. Males had a median income of $31,405 versus $25,426 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,437. About 13.4% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.5% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

The Monte Cristo Cottage, boyhood home of Eugene O'Neill

The family of Nobel laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill (1888–1953) were intimately connected to New London. He lived here for years and wrote several plays in the city. A major O'Neill archive is located at Connecticut College, and the family home "Monte Cristo Cottage"[22] in New London is a museum and registered national historic landmark operated by the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Dutch's Tavern on Green Street was a favorite watering hole of Eugene O'Neill and still stands today.

The United States Coast Guard Band in 2013

Notable artists and ensembles include:

• Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1946 and led by Toshiyuki Shimada, who is also conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra in New Haven.
• The Idlers of the United States Coast Guard Academy, an all-male vocal group specializing in sea shanties and patriotic music.
• United States Coast Guard Band, founded in 1925 with the assistance of John Philip Sousa. Stationed at the United States Coast Guard Academy and attracting talented musicians from all parts of the country, the band is the official musical representative of the nation's oldest continuous seagoing service.
• The Can Kickers, a folk punk band.

The Garde Arts Center in 2013

• Lyman Allyn Art Museum
• Ocean Beach Park[23]
• New London County Historical Society, Shaw-Perkins Mansion (1758)[24]
• New London Maritime Society, U.S. Custom House (1833),[25] landing site of Amistad (1839)
• Fishers Island (7 miles off the coast of New London, but part of New York)[26]
• Connecticut College Arboretum
• Fort Griswold (Groton)
• Fort Trumbull
• Coast Guard Station New London
• Flock Theatre[27]
• Garde Arts Center[28]
• Hygienic Arts Gallery[29]
• Joshua Hempsted House (1678)[30]
• Monte Cristo Cottage & Eugene O'Neill Theater Center (Waterford)[31]
• Ye Antientist Burial Ground
• Winthrop Mill (1650)
• Former Second Congregational Church (1870)[32]

One of the few remaining houses in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, June 10, 2007

The neighborhood of Fort Trumbull once consisted of nearly two-dozen homes, but they were seized by the City of New London using eminent domain. This measure was supported in the 2005 Supreme Court ruling of Kelo v. City of New London, and the homes were ultimately demolished by the city as part of an economic development plan. The site was slated to be redeveloped under this plan, but the chosen developer was not able to get financing and the project failed. The empty landscape of the Fort Trumbull area has been characterized by some as an example of government overreach and inefficiency.[34][35][36][37]

In May 1997, Robert Jordan filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States and Connecticut constitutions in a case that was referred to as "Too Smart To Be A Cop". In the fall of 1996, the City Manager told Jordan that he was ineligible to be a police officer in New London because he scored too high on the written portion of the Wonderlic test intended to evaluate cognitive ability.

New London had decided to consider only applicants who scored between 20 and 27 on the written examination. Jordan scored a 33 on the exam, the equivalent of having an IQ of 125. He filed suit in the District Court, where his case was dismissed by Judge Peter C. Dorsey, who noted: "The guarantee of equal protection under the Fifth Amendment is not a source of substantive rights or liberties, but rather a right to be free from invidious discrimination in statutory classifications and other governmental activity. It is well settled that, where a statutory classification does not itself impinge on a right or liberty protected by the Constitution, the validity of the classification must be sustained unless the classification rests on grounds wholly irrelevant to the achievement of [any legitimate government] objective…. [Jordan] may have been disqualified unwisely but he was not denied equal protection." The dismissal was upheld on appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.