The Steamboat Era and Lady of the Lake

[mcdude]

Article reprinted from the Baysider 5/5/11

Alton Historical Society hears about Lady of the Lake

BY TIM CROES

Staff Writer

ALTON — David Warren entertained the Alton Historical Society during its April 19 meeting with a presentation about the history of the Lady of the Lake and what led up to its construction. Warren is an expert in the history of boating and has built several models including the Lady of the Lake and most recently, the Chocorua. His model of the Chocorua is currently located at the Gilman Library and will be until the end of May. Warren is helping launch the Steamboat History Center, which will be included as part of the New Hampshire Boat Museum in Wolfeboro
this summer. Warren talked about the Lady of the Lake and the history of railroads around Lake Winnipesaukee. “In my opinion, it is the most important steamboat that ever graced the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee,” Warren said. According the Warren,the arrival of railroads on the lake really changed the way of living. It changed the Lakes Region into the tourist destination that is today. Warren reviewed an old map of the lake, which featured different names for the neighboring towns. He pointed out that Alton was an important stop on the lake because it was the closest to the seacoast. In the early 1800s, a plan to dig a canal from Alton to the seacoast was planned, but that plan was scrapped after the construction of the railroads. Prior to the railroads, ox carts and horse-drawn wagons were used to move goods. Gundalows, which were huge sailing barges that first appeared in 1812, moved goods across the lake. Horse boats were built in 1840 and were used on the lake as late as 1870. The first railroad was built in 1848, which led into the Weirs. Steamboats were built on speculation after the construction of the railroads. The Winnipesaukee Steamboat Company built the Lady of the Lake on May 16, 1849. By July 2, passenger service began. In 1851, the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad bought the vessel. Originally, she had no name but was referred to as “Nelly” or “The River Queen.” The first found documentation referring to her as the Lady of Lake was found in 1865. The boat was rebuilt many times over the years. In the summer of 1865, the boat ran into “The Witches” off of Governor’s Island.The repair cost was a staggering $10,000. In 1867, a disastrous fire badly damaged the historic steamboat. The boat was crudely rebuilt, but in 1871, a complete rebuild was completed. It was rebuilt again in 1882 to better support the paddle box, but it was no longer able to get under the Weirs Bridge. It was sold back to the Winnipesaukee Stemboat Company in 1889. The boat, which was only 125 feet long, was featured much larger in advertising. It only carried 400 passengers, but on trip to the Diamond Island House, the boat carried 1,280 passengers, more than three times its legal limit. The Mt. Washington was constructed in 1872 and combined with financial panic, it led to the end of the Lady of the Lake. She was retired on Sept. 19, 1893, and machinery was removed. The hull of the ship was filled with rocks and was dropped into Smith Cove near Kimball’s Castle, but the ship was stubborn and rolled over and came back up. The vessel was filled with
rocks once more, and she stayed at the bottom of the lake, where she still resides. Warren said that an extensive archeological survey would be taking place by a dive team this August on the Lady of the Lake. Warren also read pages from the diary of a local woman,Sarah Rogers,whose husband worked on the vessel. Her stories talked about her husband, receiving food from the ship and problems keeping good help. Warren said the Lady of the Lake was sadly missed, but that the Mt. Washington roudly carries on her legacy.

-

Showing the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad's markings. Built in 1849. In 1893 the machinery was removed and the remains of her hull served as living quarters for the workers building Kimball's Castle. Sunk in Glendale in 45 feet of water after being loaded with rocks and holes bored in her hull. From the Walker Collection. Used with permission.

(From the rattlesnakeGal collection) The Chocorua started out as the steamboat "Dover" in 1851. It was later rebuilt to accomodate more passengers and was renamed "Chocorua" Note the unusual style of this ship. Instead of having the decks and upper portion of the boat derive support solely from truss-like structures and ribbing build up from the keel, this craft had a “hog-frame,” so-called from its hog-back shape, which gave support from above as well as below. The two arched frames, sweeping from bow to stern above decks, gave this type of boat an unusual appearance. It is said that on March 20, 1851, every stick of timber and plank of which the hull was constructed was standing in the forest; yet she made her maiden voyage only seventeen months later on August 18, 1852, running between Alton Bay, Wolfeboro, Long Island, Center Harbor and Meredith. From Three Centuries on Winnipesaukee by Paul H. Blaisdell

1861 - A very popular spot until it developed a bad reputation due to gambling and rum. Later became the New Weirs Hotel after it was hauled across the ice.

[carguy]

McDude, Rattlesnake Girl:

Is the building on the right side of this photo the old Diamond Hotel? The
Lady of the Lake I believe is docked at Diamond Island in this old photo.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

I do believe that you are correct Carguy!