Special Collections

This category includes maps, broadsides, photographs, videos, audio recordings, oral histories, scrapbooks, periodicals, rare books. Click on a material type listed below for details.

Maps

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 are residence maps from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s. More recent maps display zoning, wetlands, woodlands, and other natural features. This collection contains approximately 250 maps and has been digitized.

Newspapers

A succession of local newspapers has covered the town of New London intermittently. Issues of the following publications, listed chronologically, may be found at the Archives:
New London Advocate (1872 – 1873)
Summer Rest (1887 – 1895)
Colby Academy Voice (1887, 1897, 1937)
Colby Life (1894 – 1896)
Colby Voice (1915 – 1918)
The Highlander (1929 – 1931)
New London News (1931 – 1934)
The Speaker (1935 – 1942)
Kearsarge Beacon (1943 – 1945)
Weekly Suburban (1966 – 1967)
New London Review (1973 – 1974)
The Blackwater Gazette (1976 – 1978)
New London Times (1990 – 1991)
Highland Journal (1991 – 1992)
News Messenger (December 1991)
InterTown Record (1993 to present)
In addition to these newspapers, the Argus-Champion (1839 – 2008) and its predecessors provided some coverage of New London events. Surviving portions are available online at the Richards Free Library digital newspaper archives; they are also available on microfilm at the New Hampshire State Library in Concord.

Oral History

The Archives holds tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews with the following individuals. Over 2,000 pages of edited transcripts have been scanned to provide text searching, and most of the original audio recordings have been copied to digital format. Use of these materials is subject to legal and privacy concerns, however, and they are not available online; remote researchers must contact the Archives for assistance.
 
Ruth Almeder, Genevieve Austin, Mary Barrett, Sydney & Caroline Beall, Barbara Bloch, Eunice Bohanon, Bill Bradford, CarltonBradford, Alma Ward Bristol, Harold Buker, Wallace Bush, Frank Butler, Shirley Call, Walt Chadwick, Dr. William P. Clough Jr., Carl & Elinore Cochran, Emma Colby, Frank & Lois Conklin, Frank Cricenti, Marie Cricenti, Dura Crockett, Sydney Crook, HaroldCurrier, Sharon Daniel, Don Davis, Victor Dean, Thomas Draper, Alvin "Bush" Eaton, Ervin Edmunds, Walter Ensign Sr., PhillipFast, 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, CharlieJobes, 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. FredMetting, Prof. William Millar, Nancy Muller, Dr. John Nalchajian, Betty & Mary Nichols, Jules Pellerin, Lawrence & ConstancePhilbrook, 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, DonSieburg, 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, SlickWilliamson, Marjorie Witte, Amy Woll, Jane Wood, Everett Woodman, Lucien & Eunice Worthen, Benjamin Yerxa

Periodicals

The following periodicals, listed alphabetically by title, may be found at the Archives:
Granite Monthly (April 1877 – July 1928)
Historical New Hampshire (Summer 1965 – present)
Kearsarge Magazine (various)
Mountaineer (June 1964 – August 1973)
New Hampshire Genealogical Record (January 1987 – April 1998)
New Hampshire Profiles (January 1966 – July 1970)
New Hampshire Troubadour (April 1931 – November 1951)
Soo-Nipi Magazine (September 1983 – present)
Winding Roads (June 1973 – May 1974)

Photographs

The photograph collection of over 10,000 images has been digitized and is available for searching and viewing at the Archives. 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.

Scrapbooks

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 Celena Todd, whose work spanned five decades and over twenty volumes. Volunteers have indexed her work, providing a finding aid for researchers interested in this unique collection of local history.

Videos

This collection has not yet been inventoried.

WWII Posters

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 upon request.