Today New London is a working harbor city and a college and Coast Guard town, proud of its whaling past, its academy, and its place at the mouth of the Thames on Long Island Sound. Its story runs from the Pequot shore and Winthrop's 1646 founding through the 1781 burning, the whaling boom that made it the world's second-busiest whaling port, and the arrival of the Coast Guard Academy and the Eagle. Our New London designs gather that identity into wearable form — the whaleship, the oyster shell, the Coast Guard, the deep harbor. New London, Connecticut — the Whaling City on the Thames.
New London keeps two seafaring identities at once. There is the whaling city — Whale Oil Row, the old harbor, the Custom House where the Amistad captives once came ashore, the lights at New London Harbor and the offshore Ledge. And there is the Coast Guard city — the academy on the Thames, the cadets, and the Eagle standing out under sail, one of the last great square-riggers flying the American flag. Between them runs the Thames itself, with the ferries pulling out for Orient Point and Block Island, the Amtrak trains along the waterfront, and the working harbor that has defined the place since 1646.
Why People Visit New London Connecticut
- Visit the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and, when she's in port, the barque Eagle.
- Tour Fort Trumbull State Park, the granite fort with harbor views and coastal-defense exhibits.
- See New London Harbor Light and the offshore New London Ledge Lighthouse.
- Walk Whale Oil Row and the historic downtown around Bank Street and the 1833 Custom House.
- Spend a summer day at Ocean Beach Park, or catch a show at the Garde Arts Center.
- Ride the Cross Sound Ferry across to Orient Point, or sail for Block Island.
