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New London July 2017 4 (Main Street)Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · New London

New London’s post office opened in 1938, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1939 on, and the census since 1970.

1938first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From New London’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How New London began

When was New London founded?

1938

The New London post office opened in 1938, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, London (1855), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 899 in 19702020 census: 95888 years
Founding year: the first New London post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.
★ 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNew London School explosion (cropped): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Then & now

The same spot, 79 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

New London School Explosion MemorialNew London School explosion19372016
New London School explosionMatched from the two captions
The story

How New London came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New London.

Read it all →

On March 18, 1937, the London School Explosion killed 270 children and 24 adults. As a result of the disaster, Texas passed laws requiring natural gas to be mixed with a malodorant to provide early warning of any leak and laws requiring pipe workers to be properly licensed. Other states quickly followed. Eventually, malodorant in natural gas became a legal requirement in the United States.

ChaptersHolt Stadium in London, Texas

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

New London, 1855 to 1939

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe London post office opens
  3. 1876Post officeThe London post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1937In the archiveNew London School explosion (cropped)
  6. 1938Post officeThe New London post office opens
  7. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

New London, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
New London School explosion (cropped)1937New London School explosion (cropped)New London School explosion1937New London School explosion
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
New London July 2017 1 (West Rusk Junior High School)2017New London July 2017 1 (West Rusk Junior High School)New London School Explosion Memorial2016New London School Explosion MemorialNew London, Texas Post Office2015New London, Texas Post OfficeTXMap-doton-NewLondon2004TXMap-doton-NewLondon
On the map

New London on the map, 1939 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 1939 USGS mapNew London on the 1973 USGS mapNew London on the 1986 USGS map1939Henderson sheet · 1:62,500

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

02004006008001,000198020002020Peak: 998

Between 899 and 998 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to New London

Nobody well known was born in New London itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
F
Forest WhitakerAmerican actor · b. 1961
Miranda LambertAmerican country singer · b. 1983
J
José Francisco TorresAmerican soccer player · b. 1987
M
Mark WhiteAmerican politician · b. 1940
J
Joe R. LansdaleAmerican novelist, short story writer, martial … · b. 1951
W
Will JenningsAmerican songwriter · b. 1944
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

New London’s post office has been open since 1938. Another post office, London, opened and closed inside today’s town.

London
1855–1876
New London
1938–today
18501940today

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 1938, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.