The Archives also holds several special collections.
Special Collections
Map Collection
The land around present-day New London was surveyed and lotted out by Jeremiah Page in 1773. Since then, the town has been mapped for all sorts of purposes. Among the more interesting maps are residence maps from the 1800s and early 1900s. More recent maps display zoning, wetlands, woodlands, and other natural features. This collection has not yet been inventoried.
Newspaper Collection
A succession of local newspapers has covered the town of New London over the years. Issues of the following publications may be found at the Archives:
Summer Rest (1880s - 1890s)
The Highlander (1929 - 1931)
New London News (1931 - 1934)
The Speaker (1935 - 1942)
The Blackwater Gazette (-)
Intertown Record (1993 to present)
Oral History Collection
The Archives holds tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews with the following individuals. Over 2,000 pages of transcripts have been scanned in order to provide full text searching across the entire collection.
Ruth Almeder, Genevieve Austin, Mary Barrett, Sydney & Caroline Beall, Barbara Bloch, Eunice Bohanon, Bill Bradford, Carlton Bradford, Alma Ward Bristol, Harold Buker, Wallace Bush, Frank Butler, Shirley Call, Walt Chadwick, Carl & Elinore Cochran, Emma Colby, Frank & Lois Conklin, Frank Cricenti, Marie Cricenti, Dura Crockett, Sydney Crook, Harold Currier, Sharon Daniel, Don Davis, Victor Dean, Thomas Draper, Alvin "Bush" Eaton, Ervin Edmunds, Walter Ensign Sr., Phillip Fast, Kitty Gay, Paul Baxter Gay, Vinita Gay, Frank & Dorothy Gordon, Nellie Gould, Clarence Granger, Beth & Dot Griffin, Harry B. Harris Jr., Sally Hartwell, Dr. Donald Hayes, Wolf Heinberg, David Hitchcock, Dorothy Day Howard, Jeff Howe, Berk Hunter, Charlie Jobes, Bill Kidder, Seth Lamson, Bud Lauridsen, Arthur Little, Roy London, Kenneth Lord, Eleanor Lovely, Jean MacCleod, Frank McCauley, Ann Merrill, Clara Messer, Evelyn Messer, Geraldine Messer, Marion Messer, Robert Messer, Dr. Fred Metting, Prof. William Millar, Nancy Muller, Dr. John Nalchajian, Betty & Mary Nichols, Jules Pellerin, Lawrence & Constance Philbrook, Marian Pike, Dorothy Gay Poole, Mrs. Henry Rayno, Anna & Ken Rich, Jeanne Russo, Ausbon Sargent, Murray Sargent, Rachael Sargent, Fran Sawyer, William Schmidt, Frances Shepard, James Shepard, Maitland Shepard, Sam Shepard, Don Sieburg, Florence Sill, Almina Knowlton Smith, Dorris Smith, Ora A. Smith, Henry Stanley, Horace Stanley, Sumner Stanley, Dorothea Stibitz, William Stockdale, Maude Swift, George Thomson, Hellen Breed Thomson, Gwen Stanley Todd, Julia Todd, Mildred Tunis, Ledyard Ward, Ernest Welch, Dorothy Whipple, Bradford White, Charles Whittemore, Winnifred Little Williams, Slick Williamson, Marjorie Witte, Amy Woll, Jane Wood, Everett Woodman, Lucien & Eunice Worthen, Benjamin Yerxa
Photograph Collection
A large portion of this collection was assembled by the Historical Society and is now available for electronic searching and viewing. Over 7,000 images have been digitized. There are also several private photograph collections held at the Archives, including those of Frederick Sargent, Murray Sargent, Ausbon Sargent, Maitland Shepard, Farren, and the Crockett, Dean, Griffin, and Stanley families.
Scrapbook Collection
Throughout most of the 20th century, members of the New London community maintained scrapbooks of newspaper clippings. These contained local, state, and national news items of interest to the collectors. The most prolific of the scrapbook keepers was Cecilia Todd, whose work spanned many decades and some twenty volumes. Volunteers have indexed her work, providing a finding aid for researchers using the collection.
Video Collection
This collection has not yet been inventoried.
World War II Poster Collection
Discovered in the spring of 2008, this collection of nearly 90 different posters from World War II covers topics like buying war bonds, recycling, planting victory gardens, recruiting, increasing manufacturing production, safeguarding secrets, and more. These posters have been cataloged and digitized; the images may be made available for educational purposes.