162 



CITIES, AMERICAN. (NEW LONDON.) 



expenses of the war, and during the complica- 

 tions with France its losses amounted to nearly 

 ' $750,000. In a single month of 1805 importa- 

 tions were made to the amount of $800,000; but 

 the fire of 1811, followed by the War of 1812 and 

 the restrictive acts of Government, gave a finish- 

 in"- blow to the foreign commerce. Since 1883 

 noship has floated on the Merrimac, but prior to 

 that date 2,000 vessels in all were built, with an 

 aggregate tonnage of 40J,000. Ship-building was 

 especially active during the period of "clippers,"' 

 from 1840 to 1860, 6 large yards being in operation 

 employing hundreds of men. Among the vessels 

 built here were the " Racer " and the " Dread- 

 nought. Pishing was carried on for fifty years, 

 5,000 to 35,000 barrels of mackerel being in- 

 spected annually at the port, and over 1,000 

 men employed. Fishing vessels were constructed, 

 and the manufacture of cordage was extensively 

 carried on, there being 8 or 10 rope-walks in the 

 town, with a product of nearly $100,000 yearly. 

 Printing and publishing, cigar-making, wool- 

 pulling, tanning, and morocco-dressing, and the 

 manufacture of combs, hats, chairs, and other in- 

 dustries, in small establishments, were largely car- 

 ried on, and rum was made in 10 distilleries. At 

 present the city has one of the 10 rum.factories of 

 the United States, 8 of which are in New England, 

 which manufacture 2,500 barrels yearly, valued at 

 $150,000. The manufacture of cotton goods was 

 begun in 1834, and in 1887 3 large factories 

 were in existence, employing over 1,000 persons, 

 and operating 82,872 spindles and 1,789 looms. 

 The yearly product of the shoe industry was 

 nearly $2,000,000, more than 2,000 persons being 

 employed, with annual pay-roll of about $750,- 

 000. Two silver factories, a foundry and ma- 

 chine works, a hat factory, a patent-leather 

 company, 2 comb factories, a brick yard, and 

 street car shops, are in operation ; and other 

 industries include the manufacture of steam 

 ditching machines and paper boxes. The city 

 has 4 national and 2 savings banks, is lighted 

 lighted by gas and electricity, and has an electric 

 street railway connecting with Amesbury, Merri- 

 mac, and Plumb Island (a summer resort), also 

 21 miles of horse-car line. Water is pumped to 

 a standpipe 35 feet high, at an elevation of 150 

 feet. Two pairs of duplex compound con- 

 densing pumping engines have a capacity of 

 4,000,009 gallons in twenty- four hours. The 

 assessed valuation of the city in 1888 was 

 $8.074,737. The 13 public-school buildings, 

 sites, etc., were valued at $99,700, and 44 

 teachers were employed, while 1,600 children 

 were enrolled in the public and 800 in private 

 and parochial schools. The population of New- 

 buryport in 1880 was 13,538, and in 1890, 13,947. 

 Jetties are under construction by the United 

 States Government to deepen the channel of the 

 Merrimac on the bar. 



New London, a city of- Connecticut, county 

 seat, of New London County, on the western side 

 of Thames river and 3 miles above its mouth, in 

 Long Island Sound, half-way between New York 

 city and Boston, and 6 miles from Providence, 

 B. I. The harbor is the best on the sound, and 

 one of the best in the United States, 3 miles 

 long, 5 fathoms deep, thoroughly protected 

 against storms, and against floating ice also, so 

 that it is an especially fine wintering port. Fort 



Trumbull, with 80 guns, guards the mouth, and 

 a United States naval station is on the eastern 

 bank of the river, above the city. Its marine 

 activity is now confined principally to coasting 

 trade. The first line of steamers to New York 

 and New Haven was established in 1816, and the 

 first railroad (there are now 3) was opened in 

 1850. The first telegraph, to Norwich, was op- 

 erated in 1847. New London was founded by 

 Gov. John Winthrop, Jr., in 1646, on lands of 

 the Mohegan Indians, a branch of the Pequot 

 tribe exterminated at Groton in 1637. In 1645, 

 having obtained a grant including Fisher's Isl- 

 and the year previous, he began erecting a house 

 and arranged for the mining and smelting of 

 iron ore. In 1658 the name was changed 1'rom 

 Naumeag in honor of London, England, and a 

 custom officer was appointed, probably the first 

 in the colony. In 1710 it was made 'the chief 

 postal station in Connecticut. Ship-building 

 was begun in 1660, and a Society of Trade and 

 Commerce was organized in 1730. In 1751 a 

 fleet of 37 incoming and 62 outgoing vessels rep- 

 resented the commerce of the city, which suf- 

 fered during the French and Indian War, and in 

 1776 (the military companies of the town having 

 taken part in the battle of Bunker Hill) the first 

 naval expedition of the colonial government 

 fitted out at the port, which also furnished some 

 of the most famous privateers. On Sept. 6, 

 1781, Forts Trumbull and Griswold having been 

 taken, the city was plundered and burned by 

 British troops under Benedict Arnold. In 1784 

 it received its city charter, among the first in 

 the State, and commerce with the West Indies 

 and other foreign ports revived, the first whaler 

 also sailing in that year. In 1800, when the pop- 

 ulation was reduced to 4,995 whites and 195 

 colored by yellow fever, and during the War of 

 1812, the shipping interests were deeply involved. 

 Since the civil war and the discovery of petro- 

 leum there has been- a continual depression in 

 whale fishing and in the foreign trade. New 

 London is deeply interested in the seal fisheries 

 of Alaska. The population in 1880 was 10,537; 

 in 1890, 13,757; showing an increase of 30-56 per 

 cent. A new steel bridge across the Thames is 

 claimed to be the longest double-track draw- 

 bridge in the world, having a draw of 503 feet, 

 with 2 clear passageways of 225 feet each for 

 vessels. The total length is 1,423 feet. The 

 granite wharf of the Central Vermont Railroad 

 has a length of 1,125 feet, with a width of 220 feet . 

 at the river and 150 feet at the shore end. Silk 

 mills established in 1865 have a capital of $320,- 

 000. and produce $1,500,000 yearly ; and a cotton- 

 gin company, with works covering 87.000 square 

 feet of flooring, employs 200 men and disburses 

 between $6,000 and $9,000 monthly in wages. 

 A steam woolen mill turns out 23,000 yards a 

 month, and there are a steam saw mill, a print- 

 ing-press, a paper-box, and a steam-heating appa- 

 ratus factory, and brick yards with capacity of 

 18,000,000 bricks a year. Fertilizers, gear-cutting 

 machinery, boilers, carriages and harness, and 

 bed comfortables are manufactured, and there is 

 also a ship-building and sail-muking establish- 

 ment and bottling works. The city is on the 

 slopes of hills, affording fine sewerage and per- 

 fect drainage. Water is supplied from Lake 

 Konomoc, 6 miles distant, water works estab- 



