Older Bridges Over the Weirs Channel
The Wooden Weirs Channel Bridges
The first bridge to cross the Weirs Channel was built in 1804 and was made of wood. At least two more wooden bridges were built, including the bridge in the drawing below, before 1883. Click here to see several rare stereoview photographs – the earliest known photos of the bridge over the Weirs Channel – along with interesting information about these early wooden versions of the bridge.
The Iron Weirs Channel Bridge
This iron bridge, known as a lenticular truss bridge because of its curves that resemble a convex lens, was built over the Weirs Channel in 1883, at a cost of about $2000.
Looking south. A mill house is seen to the left of the iron bridge.
Looking south circa 1895. The Endicott Rock monument and its wooden footbridge is seen.
Looking north towards Weirs Bay.
Looking north. A party in a rowboat approaches the iron bridge.
The Steel Weirs Channel Bridge
The iron bridge was not built strong enough, nor wide enough for the Laconia Street Railway trolley cars; and so it was replaced by a steel structure in 1899 “to give ample room for the electric cars and teams, with a sidewalk for foot passengers.” In a March, 1899 Laconia Democrat article, the Railway company said it would “assume all expense” in building the new steel bridge, and asked only that “…the city give them the material in the old iron bridge” and “grade up the highway between the channel bridge and the bridge over the railroad tracks.”
The Channel Bridge, – The Weirs. View is looking in a northeast direction, towards what is now Weirs Mini Golf.
The Laconia Street Railway open-air trolley heads north to Weirs Beach, while an early automobile heads south. The U.S. mailboat Uncle Sam passes underneath. Click here for more pictures of the trolley crossing the steel Weirs Channel bridge.
Early 1900’s views of the 1899 bridge shows how wide the Weirs Channel was at the time. The Belle of the Isles is seen underneath the bridge.
Below is a view of the channel looking North from Paugus Bay, circa 1910. The Pratt truss bridge is seen spanning the channel.
A view of the steel bridge looking north into Weirs Bay.
