The very first boating around Lake Winnipesaukee was
accomplished by, of course, local Indian tribes. The largest
being the Aquedoctans (part of the Iroquois) followed by
their rivals, the Chocoruas. The first recorded white
settler boating was the 1652 survey ordered by the
Massachusetts’ governor, John Endicott. The governor wanted
to firmly establish his boundaries and the best way to
accomplish this was to find the source of the Merrimack
River. In conducting the exploration, the survey party
encountered the Aquedoctans who lived at what we now call
the Weirs. The surveyors chiseled their initials, and those
of Governor Endicott, in a large rock and returned to
Massachusetts confident their mission was complete.
Early steam boating started with the “Belknap” launched
in June of 1833. Slowly, steam boats replaced the horse
powered boats so that by 1880, the lake was in its steamboat
heyday. This period lasted almost 20 years and was spurred
by the intense railroad rivalry that existed between the
Concord and Montreal railroad and the Cocheco railroad
(which was part of the Boston and Maine railroad network).
Early passenger and freight steamers were heavily
subsidized, and in some cases owned, by the different
railroads. Gradually, as the railroads consolidated and the
“freshness” of the area wore off, private boating and
vacationers declined. The decline was gradual but very real,
and was both measured and commented on by local communities,
area newspapers and the state capitol.
Although difficult to imagine today, the lakes region of
the mid 1920’s was an isolated area that remained in a slow,
steady decline. New Hampshire’s total population in 1920 was
440,000 with only 36,000 recorded in both Carroll & Belknap
Counties. Travel in and out of the area was primarily by
train as most roads were simple one or two lanes and
unimproved. Travel during the winter months was very
difficult and attempted only by the hearty. Only the western
portion of the lake, specifically Weirs, Lakeport, Laconia,
and Alton Bay, had any sort of substantial buildup. The
eastern shore of the lake, from Meredith clockwise around to
Alton, had no connecting paved road. Travel around the east
side of the lake was accomplished over rough dirt roads.
Electricity had not yet been run to smaller communities like
Mirror Lake. Rail service was available into Wolfeboro four
times a day, but was both slow and laborious, requiring
layovers and/or train changes in both Rochester and
Sanbornville. People who lived in Concord, Manchester or
Nashua had no direct route they could take to the eastern
shore of Lake Winnipesaukee and instead were required to
take the railroad east to Rochester or even Portsmouth
before they could head north into Wolfeboro. Route #28 from
Alton to Wolfeboro wouldn’t be paved until late 1929.
The Lakes Region’s long, slow decline in travelers and
vacationers concerned local business people. One way to help
entice people into the area was organized boat racing. Boat
race organizers were hoping the scheduled races would draw
people into the region but knew great efforts would have to
be made to insure easy travel in and out of the area.
Vintage
Race Boat Shop
