Uncle Sam had three lives. She was powered by a steam engine from 1906-1944 (1st life), and by a diesel engine from 1945-1961 (2nd life). She was the U.S. Mailboat almost her entire 1906-1961 existence, the exception being the years 1932-1933, when the mail was carried by the Marshal Foch. She was replaced as mailboat by the Uncle Sam II (3rd life), a converted WWII PT-Boat, from 1963-1967 (see photos below). The Do-Bo, owned and operated by Ed Lavallee, was the mailboat during the 1962 and 1968 summer seasons. In 1969, the mail franchise was transferred to the Sophie C., where it remains today.

Mail service on Lake Winnipesaukee had begun in 1892. The initial service was called a “Star Route”. On postal Star Routes, private contractors delivered the mail, providing their own means of transportation, which could be of any type, including boats. The contractors were mail carriers only, and could not provide any other postal services. In 1916, an act of Congress made the mailboat the only official floating post office on an inland water body in the USA. Mail was to be addressed to RFD No. 7, Laconia, NH, and to be cancelled with the stamp “Lake Winnipesaukee R.P.O.” The R.P.O. stood for Railway Post Office, and was meant for mail that was cancelled in transit, rather than at a stationary PO location.  On the Uncle Sam, the post office was located amidships, “…a room just large enough to contain the usual pigeonhole boxes, mail sacks, postmaster and an assistant…” The U.S. Mailboat only delivers mail in the summer, from June 15 to mid-September.

Total Number of Gallery Images: 44
Last updated on 2/15/2019

Vessel Statistics:
65′ long
14′ beam
7′ draft
Top Speed:
Passenger Capacity: 100

Uncle Sam II

Photos of the Uncle Sam II at its Lakeport base, 1960s. Sign says: “U.S. Mail Boat • Daily Trips • Leaves Lakeport 8:00am – 1:00pm • Four Hours of Scenic Splendor • Available for Charter