The History of New Hampshire's Weirs Beach on Lake Winnipesaukee

Weirs Beach Has Been Inhabited For Thousands of Years

Today, Weirs beach is one of the fun hotspots on Lake Winnipesaukee with great food, a boardwalk full of fun activities for the whole family, and the home of the M/S Mount Washington every summer. But did you know that this valuable piece of real estate has a history stretching back thousands of years?

The Original Summer "Resort"

Recent archaeological expeditions at the beach have found that Native Americans used the area as a summer camp for hunting and fishing dating back to 8000 BC. The native Abenaqui of the Penacook tribe called their village Aquedoctan, meaning “place of good fishing.”

In fact, this popular summer resort actually got its name from the particular type of basket the Native Americans used to trap the shad that migrated through the channel on their way from Lake Winnipesaukee to the Merrimac River, to the sea. These fish traps were called “WEIRS” and went into the channel to prevent the shad from moving through the channel to the river.

Then, in 1652, an expedition sent by Governor Endicott of the Massachusetts Bay Colony followed the Merrimac from its mouth, located in what is now Newburyport. Arriving at Lake Winnipesaukee at Weirs channel, they carved their initials into a rock, Endicott Rock, to mark the northern boundary of the colony. The stone is still there today, protected by a monument erected in 1892. The first white settlers arrived in 1736, with the construction of a fort. This was the end of the Native American habitation of Weirs.

The Arrival of The Tourists

By 1848, the Boston, Concord and Montreal railroad arrived in Weirs and with it, New England tourists. Within a few years, Weirs had become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. 

In 1849, seeing the increase in passengers visiting Weirs, the Boston, Concord & Maine railroad purchased the steamship “The Lady of the Lake”. From her homeport in Weirs, The Lady of the Lake offered regular steamship service to the ports of Wolfeboro, Center Harbor, and Alton Bay, until her last service in 1893. In 1872, the competing B&M railroad began service on the lake, launching the Mount Washington. It was the longer, faster, and more luxurious ship, and soon dominated passenger service serving 60,000 passengers each year.

By the turn of the 20thcentury, four express trains each day left Boston bound for Weirs. Train travel reached its peak in 1915. As the age of the automobile began in earnest, train service from Boston started a long, slow decline, finally stopping in 1960.

By the 1920s Weirs was THE vacation destination for New Englanders with its busy railroad station, a beautiful grand hotel on the beach, a boardwalk, and a large dance pavilion. Then two fires would change everything.

The End of an Era

In 1924, a devastating fire destroyed the Grand Hotel Weirs. Then, in 1939 a second fire would end steam travel on Lake Winnipesaukee. On a cold December night, a fire at the railway station quickly spread down the ramp to the winter berth of the Mount Washington. There were attempts to free her, but the water level was low, and she was grounded in the mud. The ship, boardwalk and railway station all were destroyed entirely, marking the end of an era.

Captain Leander Lavallee set out to rebuild the vessel. Unfortunately, it was wartime, and raw materials were being used for the war effort, making it impossible to save the ship. However, after a diligent search throughout New England, he found a vessel on Lake Champlain, The Chateauguay, a 203-foot long vessel that was built in 1888.

In April of 1940, four months after the devastating fire, he had found his vessel, cut it into 20 pieces, transported it by railcar to Lakeport and rebuilt her with a new steel superstructure and twin 750 horsepower diesel engines. Christened the SS Mount Washington II, she was relaunched into service, where she still takes visitors on sightseeing cruises around Lake Winnipesaukee departing from Weirs Beach every day from May thru October.

In the 1940s, an effort had begun to rebuild after the devastating fire, and a new hotel was constructed. Before the 1950s, the beach as we know it today did not exist. Visitors would enter the water from the rocky shoreline at Endicott Park and swim to one of two diving rafts anchored offshore. It was around this time that local businessmen, led by Ed Hoagland, owner of the Lakeview House began to petition to construct the beach that is there today, and in November 1955 the Weirs city council change the name to Weirs Beach. And a resort was reborn!

Weirs Beach Today

Today, Weirs Beach is once again a dominant vacation destination drawing visitors from throughout the Northeast and around the world! With fine dining, luxury accommodations, charming bed and breakfasts, the boardwalk, arcades, nightlife, great shopping and of course, the beach, Weirs Beach is a great place to bring the entire family for a true New England summer vacation!

If you're planning a vacation on Lake Winnipesaukee, make sure to visit the M/S Mount Washington ticket office to experience a unique view of New Hampshire's crown jewel! Cruises depart from the town dock in Weirs Beach several times each day from May to October. Don't miss our spectacular Sunday Brunch cruise leaving Alton Bay.

If you're planning an event, wedding, company outing, or would like to arrange a private charter, give us a call at (603) 366-5531 and let us help you plan a memorable event you'll be talking about for years to come!


8 comments


  • Lucas

    In 2015, we drove nearly 900 miles to visit this place and fell in love with it instantly. We just dont have these beautiful nostalgia-filled places in Indiana. Every time some beautiful historic place is torn down, I cringe. They call it progress but I call it a great loss to our children. So, to see a place like Weirs Beach brings me great joy, even though I never had the privilege of spending endless summer days there year after year. I promised myself that I would go back at least once more, no matter how long the drive.


  • Steve Murray

    Looking for any thing on the. Lucky strike inn and tea room my father told story’s about his youth there. but has passed away. would like to find out more about it


  • Rich

    Man, oh, man!!! So many great memories. My parents started going up to the Weirs in the 60s with my older brothers and sister. My earliest memories were in 79 or 80. I was 6 or 7. I would save my quarters all year, just to play the arcade games at the end of the boardwalk. We stayed at a quad which was part of the Lakeside Hotel. We would spend hours at the private beach at the bottom of the hill. Every year, the same families would stay in July and we became friends that looked forward to seeing each other and when the week was over, there was a pit in your stomach because you just did not want to leave. The nostalgia! The smells in the air… to this day if I smell fried dough it takes me right there. Pac man, donkey kong, usa vs ussr hockey….all the games…. the gypsy in the glass case. Put a quarter and she will read your fortune. I remember the funspot and the keller house. I remember the tamarac. The polar caves. I remember as a kid when the mount Washington went out the wake sent big waves to the beach and we ate it up! The weirs beach water slide then the surf coaster and wave pool. I must say, the one thing missing is just that. The weirs needs a water park again! As the years have gone by I have made my way ip there. When I met my wife, I could not wait to show her this place. Unless you grew up going there folks just dont get it. Now that we have kids a 7 year old and 3 year old we have been wanting to go. We have found ourselves in North Conway at the red jacket. It has a huge pool and indoor water park. The kids love it. My heart wants to go back to the weirs but the kids love the water park..lol. We go as a family, 10 of us, 4 kids, really 6 if you count me and my brotheri law. My heart and my gut want to go back to the weirs, especially to bring my mom. She is 82 and healthy. I know she would like to go again, one more time….. so we shall see, I will try and rally the troops and get there for July of 2020. I hear things have improved over the past couple of years with a new company taking over the boardwalk. Here’s to all the memories and to making new one’s at the Weirs!!!


  • Lorraine Cardosi

    Always loved the Weirs! Started going there in late “40s”. It’s a great place.


  • Bonnie

    Back in the 80’s and 90’s Weir’s beach was the place to be it has died down way down There used to be 2 slides The weirs beach water slide and serve coaster They had Go kart. Fun spot mini golf Jade island JB scoops And lots more shops in the weirs. What has happened to all that Amusement where has it gone the water slides people love doing that stuff now you’d think with some of that land that they have up there at the weir’s beach water slide used to be or somewhere up there maybe even at gunstock somebody would build an amusement park for kids and adults alike That’s what they’re missing here in the LAKES REGION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE just look at Canopy Lake park, Storyland, santa’s village, And whales tails are always filled every day. I think GUNSTOCK WOULD BE THE PERFECT PLACE 🙂


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