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CHistory
History · New London

New London’s post office opened in 1867, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1880.

1867first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How New London began, and where its name came from

When was New London founded?

1867

The New London post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 55 in 18802020 census: 1,252159 years

How did New London get its name?

New London was named after New London, Wisconsin, by Louis Larson because of the similarity he saw with his previous home there.

How historic is New London?

C

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first New London post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
History grade

What drives New London’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New London is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New London’s overall grade.
Founding era1867, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.6% of homes (±3.5) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%
NewerOlder

Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so New London’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about New London’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of New London are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New London’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New London’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

New London, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of New London yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

New London is a city in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States along the Middle Fork of the Crow River. The population was 1,252 at the 2020 census. Sibley State Park is nearby. It was named after New London, Wisconsin, by Louis Larson because of the similarity he saw with his previous home there. It was incorporated on April 8, 1889. The city was the county seat of Monongalia County from 1866 to 1870 when Monongalia merged with Kandiyohi County.

Its first post office opened in 1867. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,251 in 2010, 1,252 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

New London, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Flickr - DVS1mn - 70 Chevrolet Chevelle (2)2012Flickr - DVS1mn - 70 Chevrolet Chevelle (2)New London spillway, Minnesota2011New London spillway, MinnesotaNew London spillway in Minnesota2011New London spillway in MinnesotaLincoln Town Car2011Lincoln Town Car66 Pontiac GTO201166 Pontiac GTO2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

New London on the map, 1967 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New London. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

New London on the 1967 USGS mapNew London on the 1986 USGS map1967New London sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of New London.

People over time

New London, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400188019001920194019601980200020201,252

Grew from 55 people in 1880 to 1,252 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New London’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

New London’s post office has been open since 1867.

Gone or out of use
New Londonlocale
1cemetery inside New London
Lebanon

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about New London’s history

What year was New London founded?

The New London post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does New London rank for history?

New London is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in New London?

11% of New London’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1980.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.