Endicott Rock Statue

In 2004, sculptor Robert Morton was commissioned by the Weirs Action Committee to create a historically accurate statue of a Native American, as he would have appeared to the explorers who reached Weirs Beach in 1652 and who carved their initials on the Endicott Rock monument. The statue was dedicated on June 4, 2005, with participation of NH’s Native American Inter-Tribal Council. Click here for more info on NH’s Native Americans from the Indigenous New Hampshire Collaborative Collective.

The above photo shows the fragile old statue, “Captain Jack” (click here for more photos and extensive info.) Captain Jack was a cigar store Indian donated by Dr. J. Alonzo Greene, owner of the New Hotel Weirs, and placed atop the monument in 1901. The statue was made of zinc alloy by the William Demuth Company of New York City, a purveyor in the 19th century of cigar store items.

American Indians and tobacco had been associated ever since a Taino native introduced tobacco to Europeans by giving Christopher Columbus a gift of tobacco leaves in 1492. American Indians were frequent users of the plant for medicinal and religious uses, and had taught settlers how to plant and harvest and use tobacco.

Never historically accurate, instead of local Native American Abenaki and Pennacook features, the figure wore a Seminole headdress and carried a Mohawk tomahawk. Struck by lightning in 1978, the statue was repaired and rededicated on May 27, 1983, only to be vandalized three months later, when it was found standing in the Lake with water up to its armpits. After another round of repairs, including a fresh coat of bronze paint,  the statue was placed on its permanent perch on a balcony overlooking the periodical reading room at Laconia’s Gale Memorial Library (photo below).