View Single Post
Old 04-09-2005, 04:49 PM   #1
mcdude
Senior Member
 
mcdude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Rock Haven Lake - West Newfield, ME
Posts: 5,359
Thanks: 374
Thanked 1,041 Times in 489 Posts
Default A Weirs Souvenir - 1880s - 1940s - Part 1




A WEIRS SOUVENIR - 1880s-1940s - Part 1

Note the campground and the very first railroad station built circa. 1848.

PREFACE - Weirs Landing was pretty much an agricultural
area until the railroad came through and soon thereafter
began to develop as a resort area. The railroad leased land
to both the Civil War Veterans for their annual encampments
and to the Methodists who held yearly campmeetings.
The Methodists also rented their facilities out to other groups
such as the Baptists.
The railroads always encoraged events and facilities that
would encourage people to use the rails.
It wasn't until about a decade after the end of the
hostilities of the Civil War before the veterans and Methodists
began to arrive.

Most black and white photos seen below are from a promotional
book, "Weirs Souvenir" published in 1897.
and a promotional book for the Hotel Weirs published
about the turn of the century.
Postcards would predominantly be from the 1900-1915 vintage.
Later images are from a promotional brochure distributed
by the Weirs Chamber of Commerce in 1948.

scroll over to see the panorama above.....scroll this way > ---->

T A B L E of C O N T E N T S
Preface
1880s with text from Bachelder's "Popular Resorts and How to Reach Them"
1875
1897 - Veteran's Encampment and Buildings
Methodist Campground
Accomodations
Dining
Activities
Boat Rides
Airplane Rides
Lakeshore Path
Orchard View Tower
Dancing and Big Bands
Speedboat Racing
Swimming

Click here to SUPER-SIZE this text






A list of rooming houses and hotels with the capacity and cost - 1880

to be conitnued

A WEIRS TIMELINE

1848-1849 - Railroad arrives. Route not yet completed to the
White Mountains until later on.
Civil War
1873 - First Methodist Camp Meeting
1878 - First Civil War Veterans Encampment
1880 - Diamond Island House dragged across ice to become Weirs Hotel
1885 - Weirs Cafe opens
1886 - New Hampshire Music Teachers Festivals Begin
1886 - Trinity Methodist Church is built on Tower Ave.
1886 - Aquedoctan House Opens
1887 - Lakeside House opens. Additons in 1890 and 1899.
1880s - 1890s - Tremendous growth of resort industry.
1894 - Memorial Statue and Fountain Installed. Hit by lightning in 1931.
1899 - Laconia Street Railway extends to the Weirs.
1899 - All additions completed on the New Hotel Weirs
1903 - New Music Hall Dedicated.
1916-1918 - First motorcyclists arrive at the Weirs
1924 - Hotel Weirs, Music Hall and several regimental buildings burn.
1925 - Irwin's Winnipesaukee Gardens Opens.
1939 - Mount Washington and Railroad Station Burn.
1960 - Passenger Rail Service from Boston ends.

CLICK HERE for a more extensive timeline


Last edited by mcdude; 05-09-2005 at 04:53 PM.
mcdude is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to mcdude For This Useful Post: