New London, Connecticut
One of the shire towns of New London county. The first English settlement in New London commenced in 1646. It is situated on the west bank of the river Thames. In its territorial limits it is much the smallest of any town in the state, being about 4 miles in length from north to south, and averages about 3/4 of a mile in breadth.—The city of New London is situated 3 miles from Long Island Sound and is a port of entry. It is 42 miles southeast from Hartford, 13 south from Norwich, and 53 east from New Haven. Population, in 1830, 4,356. Lon. 72°9' W., lat. 41°0'25" N. The city is principally built on a declivity, which descends to the east and south. On the summit of the high ground, back of the most populous part of the city, the observer has a fine prospect of the surrounding country. The city is irregularly laid out, owing to the nature of the ground on which it is built, being much encumbered with granite rocks.—The houses are not so handsome in their outward appearance, as might reasonably be expected, considering the wealth of the inhabitants. In the course of a few years past, however, a spirit of improvement in this respect has taken place, and many buildings have been erected which are elegant in their appearance. Some of the streets have been straitened and leveled, by blasting the granite rocks with which they were disfigured. These rocks afford an excellent material for the construction of buildings, and it is believed that no city in this country has the advantages of New London, in this particular, where the materials for erecting houses can be found in their streets. The harbor is one of the best in the United States, being large, safe, and commodious, having five fathoms of water. It is 3 miles long, and rarely obstructed with ice. During the extreme cold in January, 1835, while the navigation of the harbor of New York was closed by the ice, the harbor of New London remained open and unobstructed.
