User:Caroline Liberty/sandbox

Draft of Article

New London is currently an unincorporated community and former town located in Campbell County, Virginia, United States. The site of the colonial community is eleven miles southwest of downtown Lynchburg, Virginia. In 1754, Bedford County was formed and New London was established as the county seat. Situated near the intersection of the Great Wagon Road and the Wilderness Road, the town was an important stopping point for settlers heading west. It was in the courthouse here that Patrick Henry delivered his famous "beef" speech during the Johnny Hook trial. New London was also home to a Revolutionary-era military arsenal. In 1781, Bedford County was divided in two, forming Campbell County. The county seat was then relocated and the former bustling commercial center declined.

In the 19th century, the rising popularity of mineral springs sparked a brief revival. The Bedford Alum Springs Hotel, located in New London, drew visitors seeking the benefits of the nearby natural spring. The town sought to capitalize on this attraction and changed its name from New London to Bedford Springs.

New London is home to several historic structures. Mead's Tavern is the sole remaining building from the colonial era, but several historic buildings from the later period are still standing. These include the former Bedford Alum Springs Hotel, the office of Dr. Nicholas Kabler, the W.W. Driskill General Store, two Methodist churches, and the Holt-Ashwell house. The New London Academy (Virginia) is still in operation today as an elementary school.

In 2015, the Friends of New London, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving historic New London, sold Mead's Tavern to Liberty University. In 2018, Liberty University acquired a second historic building in New London, the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel. Current archaeological and architectural studies at Mead's Tavern are contributing to what is known about the building, the town, and the people who lived and worked there.

History

Colonial History

In 1753, William Callaway contributed 100 acres of land to the Virginia General Assembly for the creation of a new town which would soon serve as the county seat of the newly formed Bedford County. This tract of land became New London. In 1754, the courthouse and jail were erected. The town was laid out in lots and offered for sale. The town charter required that owners must construct a building of at least twenty-by-sixteen within one year. Its location at the intersection of Great Wagon Road and Wilderness Road meant that it became a bustling center of travel and trade. It remained so until the formation of Campbell County in 1781 and the subsequent relocation of the county seat. Mention Mead's Tavern in this paragraph.

John Hook Case

It was in the courthouse that Patrick Henry delivered one of his famous speeches during the Johnny Hook trial.

During the Revolutionary War John Hook, a Scottish-born merchant living in New London, was accused of being sympathetic to the British. In 1781, John Venable, the commissary for the American army seized two of John Hook's steers for the army to eat. John Hook brought a case against John Venable for taking his property. The case stays on the docket until 1789. During the trial Patrick Henry defended the state and John Venable against John Hook. On September 19, 1789 Patrick Henry delivered his famous "beef speech".

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was a prominent colonial figure who spent a great deal of time in the area surrounding New London. Thomas Jefferson built his retreat Poplar Forest near New London. Poplar Forest is roughly five miles away from New London. Jefferson was also invested in the New London Academy. He was close friends with James Steptoe, who became on of the trustees of the New London Academy.

19th Century

By the early 1800s, New London began to fade as an independent township due to the relocation of the county seat in 1781. Locals of both Bedford Countyand Campbell County created a petition for a new county to be created in 1813 with New London at its center, but the movement did not gain traction and ultimately failed.

Though it lost the court seat, New London's position next to a crossroad allowed it to have many visitors and even some prominent guests. In April 1816, General Andrew Jackson stayed in the town and almost had a duel in a New London tavern as he was passing through. Around 1820, the dirt Salem-Lynchburg Turnpike was covered with broken stone (macadam) which made traveling to and from New London smoother and helped to boost trade, at least until the introduction of the railroad in nearby Lynchburg in 1848.

New London changed its name to Bedford Springs in the late 1870s after the Echols family marketed water from the nearby alum springs and a large health resort named The Bedford Alum Springs Hotel opened in 1878.

http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/campbell/history/chronicles-communities.txt

Education History

In the early 19th century, New London was the location of at least two schools, the New London Academy and the Roland School for girls. New London Academy was a prominent secondary educational institution throughout the 19th century. In the first half of the 19th century, the Academy offered a range of subjects and students would receive an individual diploma for every subject completed. New London Academy was so renowned, that Francis Eppes attended the academy at the insistence of his grandfather, Thomas Jefferson. Even during the Civil War, it managed to remain in operation. In its early years, the school had a strong religious affiliation. The school grounds were home to a brick Episcopal meeting house, and the ministers of the church were often the principals of the school. This religious connotation eventually faded, starting with the removal of the Academy Church in 1856 to another location after the original brick building was condemned and torn down in 1855. This separation of the church from the academy lead to it becoming a public school in 1870 and a coeducational school in 1879.

New London also hosted the Roland School for girls between 1812 and 1822 in the former Mead's Tavern. Roland was a finishing school run by Samuel T. Miller and his wife and may have held up to forty students at a time. The school closed in 1822 when Samuel Miller moved to Lynchburg to start another school.

Military history

It is possible that because of New London's central location in Bedford County it was a natural place for the county militia to drill and assemble for war. The county militia participated in several frontier conflicts including the French and Indian and Anglo-Cherokee wars. During the early French and Indian war, the Cherokees were allied with the British. That all changed when a series of misunderstandings and thefts led to a confrontation in 1758 between a Cherokee war party and colonists from Bedford County that left at least five Virginians and thirty Cherokees dead. This incident near New London exacerbated the already tense relationship between the British and the Cherokees and helped set in motion the events that led to the Anglo-Cherokee War.

Arsenal

During the Revolutionary War, New London was home to an arsenal used by the Virginia state militia. The weapons and supplies manufactured in the arsenal were used to help support the campaigns of General Nathaniel Greene in the South and Colonel George Rogers Clark in the Ohio river valley. In his memoirs, British Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarletonclaims to have raided New London in search of the arsenal and the supplies that were stored there. However, according to Thomas Jefferson, Tarleton never made it to New London and stayed closer to Charlottesville. The New London arsenal was operated by the state of Virginia until 1794 when Congress passed a law authorizing the war department to erect "three or four arsenals" to supply and equip the army. New London's existing state arsenal made it a natural choice for use as a federal arsenal.

Shortly after its acquisition by the war department, the New London arsenal helped furnish the weapons and equipment used by the army sent to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania in 1794. The arsenal only remained operational under Federal control for a short time. In 1798 the war department began the process of moving the arsenal to a new location with the transfer of armorer's tools from New London to Harper's Ferry. After the means of production were moved, New London continued to be used for the storage of military equipment until at least 1812. Today, Liberty University and the Friends of New London are hoping to conduct further investigations into finding the actual spot of the arsenal, though historians believe it may have been located on the property of the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel.

Historic Structures

Mead's Tavern

Mead's Tavern is the oldest standing structure in the Central Virginia area and the only remaining building from New London's colonial era. In 1761, William Mead acquired Lot 6 and constructed what was described as a "magnificent house" in 1763. In 1784, Mead sold the building which operated as a tavern for the next 20 years or so and was then converted into a girls' school. For most of its life, the former tavern served primarily as a family residence. It also housed the office of Dr. Thaddeus Kabler and later the office of William Abbott, an insurance agent. After passing through the hands of various private owners, the building was purchased by the Friends of New London in 2012. The Friends of New London later sold the building to Liberty University in 2015.

There is archaeological and architectural evidence, such as the English bond brick style of the foundation, that prove even without the written records that the Tavern was built in the 1700’s. Investigations have also uncovered evidence of another building that was a part of the property that is believed to have probably been the kitchen. There were also additional smaller buildings on the property that will likely turn up evidence once further investigation is done to the back of the property. Unlike most of the New London area, the property that Mead's Tavern sits on has been predominately left alone. Liberty is in the process of doing archaeological and architectural studies of the property.

The Bedford Alum Springs Hotel

Bedford Alum Springs Hotel

The property site of the hotel had a history in New London before the building of the hotel. It was originally owned by the Colonel James Callaway who was a patriot in the Revolutionary War and an influential man in Virginia during his life time (1735-1809). Because of Colonel Callaway’s reputation and the amount of other buildings that are known to have been on site, there is evidence to suggest that the property that the hotel sits on was the location for the revolutionary arsenal that was kept at New London. There are archaeological investigations and research going on to confirm this.

The New London Alum spring whose water Peregrine Echols bottled for medicinal purposes.

Mead’s Tavern and the hotel property are connect as the man who ran the Roland Academy girls school located at Mead’s, Samuel Miller, acquired the hotel property. The property passed to one more owner, a Ralph Smith, before being brought by Peregrine Echols in 1833. Echols was the original owner of the tavern that became the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel. Echols was also the first person in New London to capitalize on the natural alum springs that were located a short walk away from his property by bottling and selling the water for medicinal uses. The hotel was given the name The Bedford Alum Springs Hotel and was promoted as a resort, attracting travelers who sought the benefit of the nearby alum springs. The success of the alum springs prompted the town to change its name from New London to Bedford Springs. In 1871, a fire burned down the original building. In 1877, the property that held Echols tavern was sold to John Maben who proceeded to build a large hotel. That building was burned in another fire in 1887. The hotel was rebuilt again, only to burn once more in 1902. The third rebuilt version of the hotel is what stands today. The historic site was bought by Liberty University in 2018. Liberty has plans of archaeological and architectural investigations for the hotel and property.

W.W. Driskill Store

The general store in New London was built by Willis Washington Driskill in 1897 and remained in operation until the 1930s. The building has been restored by its current owners and retains many of its original features. The building sits on one possible site of the colonial era military arsenal. The store is currently located on private property.

Holt-Ashwell House

This small, frame house dates to at least the early 19th-century with elements that may indicate earlier construction. Situated on what was Lot 17 in the original town, it was the home of Andrew Holt, an emancipated African American who was able to earn enough income as a baker to purchase the freedom of his wife and two sons. In 1851, he was charged with holding "an unlawful assemblage of negroes" in his home. The charges were dismissed and shortly thereafter, he donated a small section of his property for the construction of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The current church building is the third structure on that lot. The house itself was empty when it burned in 2017. The owner subsequently donated the property to the Friends of New London who have cleaned out the house and are considering options for restoration.

Rough Draft ~ History

Colonial History

In 1753, William Callaway contributed 100 acres of land to the Virginia General Assembly for the creation of a new town which would soon serve as the county seat of the newly formed Bedford County. This tract of land became New London.

In 1754, the courthouse and jail were erected. The town was laid out in lots and offered for sale. The town charter required that owners must construct a building of at least twenty-by-sixteen within one year. Its location at the intersection of Great Wagon Road and Wilderness Road meant that it became a bustling center of travel and trade. It remained so until the formation of Campbell County in 1781 and the subsequent relocation of the county seat.

John Hook Case

It was in the courthouse that Patrick Henry delivered one of his famous speeches during the Johnny Hook trial.

During the Revolutionary War John Hook, a Scottish-born merchant living in New London, was accused of being sympathetic to the British. In 1781, John Venable, the commissary for the American army seized two of John Hook's steers for the army to eat. John Hook brought a case against John Venable for taking his property. The case stays on the docket until 1789. During the trial Patrick Henry defended the state and John Venable against John Hook. On September 19, 1789 Patrick Henry delivered his famous "beef speech".

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was a prominent colonial figure who spent a great deal of time in the area surrounding New London. Thomas Jefferson built his retreat Poplar Forest near New London. Poplar Forest is roughly five miles away from New London. Jefferson was also invested in the New London Academy. He was close friends with James Steptoe, who became on of the trustees of the New London Academy.

19th Century

By the early 1800s, New London began to fade as an independent township due to the loss of the county seat to Bedford (then Liberty) in 1781. Locals of both Bedford County and Campbell County created a petition for a new county to be created in 1813 with New London at its center, but the movement did not gain traction and ultimately failed.

Though it lost the court seat, New London's position next to a crossroad allowed it to have many visitors and even some prominent guests. In April 1816, General Andrew Jackson stayed in the town and almost had a duel in a New London tavern as he was passing through. Around 1820, the Salem-Lynchburg Turnpike was macadamized which made traveling to and from New London smoother and helped to boost trade, at least until the introduction of the railroad in nearby Lynchburg in 1848.

The Echols family was a prominent family in New London. Peregrine Echols purchased a tract of land in New London and built a tavern on the land in 1833. A spring of mineral water was found there and this property later became the location of the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel. In the mid-1800s, the Echols family began to promote the use of alum for medicinal purposes, marketing water from the nearby alum spring as a cure for a variety of ailments.

John R. Maben purchased this tract of land from the Echols family. Maben made improvements to the grounds and constructed a hotel on the property. Using the mineral springs as a draw, Maben created an attraction for visitors to come to New London. http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/campbell/history/chronicles-communities.txt

The water was so popular that in 1876, Davis and Maben purchased a large property near the spring and constructed a large health resort which opened in 1878. Due to the spring's popularity and proximity to the town, New London prospered and become a spa town, changing its name to Bedford Springs in the late 1870s.

Education History

In the early 19th century, New London was the location of at least two schools, the New London Academy and the Roland School for girls. New London Academy was a prominent secondary educational institution throughout the 19th century. In the first half of the 19th century, the Academy offered a range of subjects and students would receive an individual diploma for every subject completed. New London Academy was so renowned, that Francis Eppes attended the academy at the insistence of his grandfather, Thomas Jefferson. Even during the Civil War, it managed to remain in operation. In its early years, the school had a strong religious affiliation. The school grounds were home to a brick Episcopal meeting house, and the ministers of the church were often the principals of the school. This religious connotation eventually faded, starting with the removal of the Academy Church in 1856 to another location after the original brick building was condemned and torn down in 1855. This separation of the church from the academy lead to it becoming a public school in 1870 and a coeducational school in 1879.

New London also hosted the Roland School for girls between 1812 and 1822 in the former Mead's Tavern. Roland was a finishing school run by Samuel T. Miller and his wife and may have held up to forty students at a time. The school closed in 1822 when Samuel Miller moved to Lynchburg to start another school.

Military History

Make this a subheading of history instead of its own thing. Edit the first sentence or find a citation.

Arsenal

Keep current information. Add a sentence about ongoing investigation for its location.

Historic Structures

Mead's Tavern

Mead's Tavern is the oldest standing structure in the Central Virginia area and the only remaining building from New London's colonial era. In 1761 William Mead acquired Lot 6 and constructed what was described as a "magnificent house" in 1763. In 1784, Mead sold the building which operated as a tavern for the next 20 years or so and was then converted into a girls' school. For most of its life, the former tavern served primarily as a family residence. It also housed the office of Dr. Thaddeus Kabler and later the office of William Abbott, an insurance agent. After passing through the hands of various private owners, the building was purchased by the Friends of New London in 2012 who sold the building to Liberty University in 2015. There is archaeological and architectural evidence, such as the English bond brick style of the foundation, that prove even without the written records that the Tavern was built in the 1700’s. Investigations have also uncovered evidence of another building that was a part of the property that is believed to have probably been the kitchen. There were also additional smaller buildings on the property that will likely turn up evidence once further investigation is done to the back of the property. Unlike most of the New London area, the property that Mead's Tavern sits on has been predominately left alone. Liberty University has further archaeological investigations that are currently in the works for Mead's Tavern. Plans include removal of the vinyl siding to reveal the original wooden structure of the house and excavation underneath the porch.

Bedford Alum Springs Hotel

The property site of the hotel had a history in New London before the building of the hotel. It was originally owned by the Colonel James Calloway who was a patriot in the Revolutionary War and an influential man in Virginia during his life time (1735-1809). Because of Colonel Calloway’s reputation and the amount of other buildings that are known to have been on site, the property that the hotel sits on is a suspected spot for the revolutionary arsenal that was kept at New London, though there has yet to be any substantial evidence to support this theory.

Mead’s Tavern and the hotel property are connect as Samuel Miller, the man who ran Roland Academy, the girls school located at Mead’s, acquired the hotel property. The property passed to one more owner, a Ralph Smith, before being bought by Peregrine Echols. Echols was the original owner of the tavern that became the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel. Echols was also the first person in New London to capitalize on the natural alum springs that were located a short walk away from his property by bottling and selling the water for medicinal uses. The hotel was given the name The Bedford Springs Hotel and was promoted as a resort, attracting travelers who sought the benefit of the nearby alum springs. The success of the alum springs prompted the town to change its name from New London to Bedford Springs. In 1871, a fire burned down the original building. In 1877, the property that held Echols tavern was sold to John Maben who proceeded to build a large hotel. That building was burned in another fire in 1887. The hotel was rebuilt again, only to burn once more in 1902. The third rebuilt version of the hotel is what stands today. The historic site is now owned by Liberty University and is used for educational purposes.

I have been assigned to work on the New London, Virginia, Wikipedia page. I plan on contributing new information on archaeological evidence found at Mead's Tavern, adding information on the Johnny Hook Trial, the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel, and new and on going efforts made by the Friends of New London.

Evaluation of article: The article is well documented in certain areas but definitely needs expanding upon in area. New pictures are needed for the page, as well as more information on the town itself, including the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel, Mead's Tavern, and the archaeological/restoration work going on in New London. ~~~~

Potential Source to Include:

~ Updated reports by Randy Lichtenberger

~ “Chancery Causes: Thomas Cooper vs William Inglis” 1762-001, Bedford County, Virginia.

~ Dabney, Virginius. “Jack Jouett’s Ride.” American Heritage 13, no. 1 (December 1961). Accessed November 27, 2018. http://www.americanheritage.com/content/jack- jouett%E2%80%99s-ride

~ Guide to the John Hook papers, 1737-1889 and undated. Duke University. https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/hookjohn/

~ Henry, William Wirt. Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence, and Speeches, Vol. 2 [Scanned copy]. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1891. Accessed November 26, 2018, from https://archive.org/details/pathenrylife02henrrich/page/482

~ Lewis, Charlene M. Boyer. Ladies and Gentlemen on Display: Planter Society at the Virginia Springs, 1790–1860. The American South Series. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2001. EBSCOhost.

~ Lichtenberger, Randy. The Alum Springs Hotel Property at New London: An Historical Overview. The Friends of New London, April 2018.

~ Moorman, John Jennings. Mineral springs of North America; how to reach, and how to use them.Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, 1873. Hathi Trust.

~ Moorman, John Jennings. The mineral waters of the United States and Canada, with a map and plates, and general directions for reaching mineral springs. Baltimore, MD: Kelly & Piet, 1867. Hathi Trust.

~ Moorman, John Jennings. The Virginia Springs of the South and West: With maps and plates, and the routes and distances to the various springs. Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lippincott, 1859. Hathi Trust. Arlamoureux (talk) 03:09, 4 February 2019 (UTC)

I'm guessing both of you have decided to use CarolineLiberty's sandbox for your draft? Please sign your contributions to Talk. Need to expand your evaluation of the article to identify potential edits, revisions, additions, etc. dddonald (talk) 14:08, 5 February 2019 (UTC)