Date:  Saturday, October 11, 2014

On Saturday, October 11, 2014, from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM, the Friends of New London will host a Fall Fun Day, Antique Car Show, & Fundraiser in New London village. FNL will lead tours of  the 1763 Mead’s Tavern, at 594 Alum Springs Road, purchased recently by FNL as the future site of its library and museum.  There is no admission charge but donations will be accepted.   Inside there will be presentations and displays of colonial archaeology and New London life during the American Revolution.  Speakers and period re-enactors will discuss the Battle of Lynchburg and the events of that campaign which occurred in or near New London.

There will be food, beverages, music,  and period re-enactors.  Archaeology displays by Randy Lichtenberger will exhibit the findings of archaeology surveys at Mead’s Tavern to date.    Copies of New London Today and Yesterday, by Daisy Imogene Read, 2011 edition, will be available, with all festival sales proceeds to benefit the Mead’s Tavern Capital Campaign Fund.

New London was established in 1754 as the first county seat of Bedford County and as the seat of Russell Parish.  Located at the crossroads of connections to the Great Wagon Road and the Wilderness Road, its stores, shops, and mills supplied the local community and many pioneers.  The Bedford County Courthouse was located on the lot adjacent to Mead’s Tavern and the colonial militia mustered close by.  By 1775 an arsenal at New London village produced gunpowder, cartridges, and accoutrements for patriot soldiers.  This grew to become a Continental arsenal with musket repair shops and production of artillery shells supplying forces in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  The arsenal remained in use until at least 1814.  New London Academy was chartered in 1795 to educate young men.  Roland Academy was established in the former Mead’s Tavern as a boarding school for young females and operated 1810 until the late 1820s.  By the 1870s New London had become a resort community with many visitors to Bedford Alum Springs and its hotel.

Directions:  From Lynchburg, via US 460 West, just past the junction with Timberlake Road, turn left onto Wildwood Road at the stoplight, then turn right onto Alum Springs Road.  Mead’s Tavern is at the intersection of Alum Springs Rd. and Town Fork Rd.  From Bedford, via 460 East, pass New London Academy, enter Campbell Co., then turn right onto Turkey Foot Rd.  then left onto Alum Springs Rd.  Watch for the Parking signs.  For further information, please call Reve Carwile, Jr. (434) 907 – 5396.