New London

Formed May 10, 1666 (4^th county)

New London County (268,805), Norwich (40,129)

The courthouse is very modern and very business office looking.  It was built in 1985.  There were 1762 and 1873 versions of the courthouse.  The current one is located on Courthouse Square at Main Street.  Main Street is Connecticut State Highway 2.  The architects are Hirsch and Persch.  The county added a renovated school as a courthouse in 1997 and a Superior Courthouse in 1985 both in New London.  The county was formed on May 10, 1666 as an original county.  It is the 4^th county.  It was named for the city which was named for London, England.  Norwich was named for Norwich, England.  New London County was the birthplace of 7 Connecticut Governors, Jonathan Trumbull, Matthew Griswold, Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., Roger Griswold, Clark Bissell, Joseph Trumbull, and William A. Buckingham. 

New London County doesn’t have a unified government as each township governs.  Twenty-three Superior District Court Judges and Six Probate Judges serve New London County.  The county is located in southeast Connecticut on the border with Rhode Island and the Long Island Sound.  The center of the county is 3.4 miles South-Southwest of Norwich.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Windham County and Rhode Island and New York (Atlantic Ocean) and Middlesex, Hartford, and Tolland counties. 

The area of the county is 666 square miles.  It is 3 out of 8 in the state.  It ranks 4 out of 8 in population in the state.  It has a density of 403.6 persons per square mile making it 5 out of 8 in the state.  New London County has 30.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 95 comes in from the east, Rhode Island, and exits to the west, Middlesex County.  United States Highway 1 parallels Interstate Highway 95 from Rhode Island to Middlesex County.  The county is overall shaped like a key pointing toward the west.  Norwich is located near the center of the county.  Norwich is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 14.9% of the county population.  The county is in the Norwich-New London Metropolitan Statistical Area.