User:JW1996/sandbox

Article Evaluation:

New London Article: The best way for me to contribute to the New London Article will be to do some research on the history of Bedford County. It will be best if I focus more on the Colonial Period and the American Revolution. There just might be something hidden in those sources.

"History" Visit Bedford History, last modified 2018, accessed February 12, 2018, http://visitbedford.com/about-us/history/

"Historical Highlights of New London Village, From Its Founding through the Civil War" New London Museum, last modified March 21, 2014, accessed on February 12, 2018, http://www.newlondonmuseum.org/2014/03/21/historical-highlights-of-new-london-village-from-its-founding-through-the-civil-war/

Link for the purchase and restoration news of Mead's Tavern http://www.newlondonmuseum.org/meads-tavern-news/ Sydneyelaine (talk) 17:30, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

Despite the fact that New London is not very well known, there are some who are committed to preserving it's history and legacy. In 2015, their board met every two months. On May 27th of that same year, it was announced that Liberty University had purchased Mead's Tavern. In 2017, the tenth annual New London Day celebration was held.

Information on what is being done can be found in the following link.

http://www.newlondonmuseum.org/

Restoration
In 2005, some residents of the New London area decided to form the group known as "Friends of New London." The purpose of the group is to restore the buildings of New London to as close to their original structure as possible. Though the town is not well-known, the organization is committed to preserving its history. On May 27, 2015, Liberty University purchased Mead's Tavern, creating a partnership between Mead's Tavern and the History Department at Liberty University. Through this partnership students can receive field experience in subjects like archaeology, historic preservation, restoration, and interpretation. After being purchased by Liberty University, plans started to develop about how to restore the building. The house has been through many structural changes, so currently it is undecided what period to restore the house to. Archeology efforts in and around the house have been made since the purchase, including glassware and metal artifacts.

In 2017, Friends of New London was able to obtain three new buildings. In February, they were able to acquire the deed to the African American Methodist Church, which was set to be demolished by another group. This church is currently undergoing the early stages of restoration. Before it was acquired by the Friends of New London, the pews had already been removed, as well as some boards from the walls, but most of the original wood had been stored in the basement to be re-used. In April, the New London Methodist Church was donated by Bud and Garnette Teass. After the church was handed to the Friends of New London, funds were raised in order to put a new roof on, put new windows in, as well as installing air conditioning and heating. The church also serves as the office for the Friends of New London. In January of 2018, the first stage of renovations were complete, which included new curtains, paint, and the removal of old carpet. The space was rented to two new church congregations, whose services began on January 7th. In late December, Friends of New London acquired the Holt-Ashwell house, which suffered damage after a fire on October 30th, 2017. As of March 2018, the house has begun the restoration process with clean-up efforts.