New London, North Carolina

New London, North Carolina
Town
Location of New London, North Carolina
Coordinates: 35°26′41″N 80°13′7″W
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Stanly
Area
• Total	1.98 sq mi (5.12 km2)
• Land	1.98 sq mi (5.12 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	732 ft (223 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	600
• Estimate  (2019)	724
• Density	366.58/sq mi (141.51/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	28127
Area code	704
FIPS code	37-46820
GNIS feature ID	1013929

New London is a town in Stanly County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 600 at the 2010 census.

Government

The Town of New London is governed by a Mayor and a five-member Town Board, the current Mayor of New London is Tate Daniels who was elected in 2013.

History

A Brief History of New London

New London began originally as Bilesville around 1830 when Thomas Biles, Jr. and Elizabeth Betsy Sides Biles moved to their farm at the highest elevation in then Montgomery County. The new town was named in honor of Uncle Tommy Biles who owned the land at the time. The first homeowners and merchants numbered fourteen and it wasn’t long before the new town boasted a number of industries.

To the south of Bilesville was a small settlement called Albemarle. The area was still a part of Montgomery County when gold was discovered. The gold was discovered in 1859 on the Howell Parker farm, there began some of the first mining operations. The nearest church to Bilesville was Bethel which was east of town. The first church in town was Bilesville Methodist. As families increased there was a need for a school with the first one being a log structure erected in 1884.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, the mine lay undisturbed until sometime in the 1870s when an English mining concern known as New London & States Co., Ltd. purchased the mine property. The English company sent Capt. William Nance to be in charge of the operation. With the gold and other industries going full speed, surely Bilesville needed a richer-sounding name. W. A. Judd from England, now in charge of the mining operations suggested the name be changed to “New London”, hardly anyone objected.

A meeting was held at the Academy to discuss the name change. Mr. Judd impressed the gathering as he described how he thought this rich settlement could grow as big as his native London, England as the residents were already building large fine homes. With the coming of the railroad, industry would increase and be more productive. The state legislature was petitioned for a change of name, the request was granted and New London was officially incorporated March 25, 1891.

The Parker Mine was operating two shifts by this time and soon the New London Cordage Mill was built and operated six 12-hour days. Soon the Yadkin Brick Company was in operation and soon its handmade colonial brick were known across the county. Another of New London’s large businesses, Culp Lumber Company, was begun when John L. Culp came from Cabarrus Country and started a large livery stable and later began the lumber operation.

When Parker Gold Mine became too expensive to operate in 1894 the English sold the property and returned to England. Dr. R. W. Ivey was the town dentist and also the postmaster. Dr. J. A. Allen came from Yadkin County and gave New London its first medical doctor. The first two automobiles in town were a Reo, owned by W. L. Cotton, who owned the bottling shop, and a chain driven Franklin owned by C. R. Brinkerhoff.

W. M. Ivey of New London, who was manager of the Albemarle Telephone Company, built a telephone line to New London. In 1920 national legislation was passed amending the constitution giving women the right to vote and hold office for the first time and in 1923 Mrs. T. V. Staton was elected Mayor of New London. She was the first female elected to municipal government in the State of North Carolina.

In 1924 the town fathers approved bringing electric power lines. The total cost of bringing the lines from Albemarle and the distribution system and sub-station was $9,354. In 1927 the town signed a contract with Duke Power Company to furnish power for the next 60 years. In 1926 and 1927 the state graded and constructed the first paved road from Albemarle through New London to Salisbury, State Highway 80. In 1934 the Parker Gold Mine property was purchased and the mine was reopened and leased to a Washington Company. In 1939 the town paved its streets.

Today New London has a new town hall, a community center, a park, a museum (housed in a building built in 1920 as a bank), and fire department. A water system and a sewer system was built in 2002.

New London is home to over 600 residents and is located near the much larger cities of Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Concord, Asheboro and Salisbury.

Geography

New London is located at 35°26′41″N 80°13′7″W (35.444859, -80.218723).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land. New London is located at the crossroads of US Route 52, NC 8, and NC 740.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	317		—
1900	299		−5.7%
1910	312		4.3%
1920	228		−26.9%
1930	246		7.9%
1940	243		−1.2%
1950	285		17.3%
1960	223		−21.8%
1970	285		27.8%
1980	454		59.3%
1990	414		−8.8%
2000	326		−21.3%
2010	600		84.0%
2019 (est.)	724		20.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 326 people, 131 households, and 94 families residing in the town. The population density was 530.7 people per square mile (206.3/km²). There were 144 housing units at an average density of 234.4 per square mile (91.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.80% White, 5.83% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.61% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.61% of the population.

There were 131 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,188, and the median income for a family was $51,429. Males had a median income of $31,806 versus $25,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,520. About 5.2% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 29.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Donald Byrd (born 1949), modern dance choreographer