London is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in northeastern Kimble County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. According to the ''

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

'', the community had an estimated population of 180 in 2000.

History

Len L. Lewis, a horse trader and former Union Army officer, helped establish the community in the late 1870s or early 1880s. After marrying a local widow, Lewis purchased a half-section of land and proceeded with plans to build a town and a town square – he hoped that the town would eventually serve as the seat of government for a new county. When a post office was established in 1882, the site was named London. The community continued to grow, and by 1896, the population had grown to about 100. The number of residents reached an estimated 360 in 1930. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

caused a brief decline in London, but by 1943, the population had grown to 400. In the years after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the community again suffered a decline in the number of people and businesses. The low point was reached in the early 1970s, when only around 110 people were living in the community. In the latter years of the 20th century, the population rose to around 180. The London Town Square was designated a

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the st ...

in 1971, marker number 2988. Although London is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 76854.

Geography

London is located approximately 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Junction along U.S. Highway 377 in northeastern Kimble County, at the south end of FM 1221. Big Saline Creek flows past to the south of the community to its confluence with the

Llano River The Llano River ( ) is a tributary of the Colorado River, about long, in Texas in the United States. It drains part of the Edwards Plateau in Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin. Two spring-fed tributaries, the North and South Llano, stret ...

approximately four miles to the southeast.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, London has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.Climate Summary for London, Texas
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Education

Public education in the community of London is provided by the Junction Independent School District.

References

External links