Endicott Rock Monument Gallery
Images of the Endicott Rock Monument from the 1900s-1940s
Images of the Endicott Rock Monument from the 1950s-1960s
Below is the oldest known photo of Endicott Rock. It is from a stereoview by W.L. Wilder, whose photos of the Weirs Channel are also the oldest on this website. The Rock is the flattish, second boulder from the right. The large boulder on the right was eventually removed, but not until years after the monument was built. In the photos below showing the wooden footbridge, the large boulder is seen clearly sitting outside the monument.
Photos of Endicott Rock in the mid 1880s. The photos show that the rock had a marker attached to one side. The first photo is by Moulton and is from his “Views of Lake Winnipesaukee and Vicinity” series.
Close up photo of Endicott Rock, dated August 28, 1885.
The photos of the Endicott Rock monument below date between 1892, when the monument was built, and 1901, when the “Captain Jack” statue was added to the top of the monument. Note the wooden bridge shown in the photos. The bridge only lasted about 7 years, when it was carried away by winter ice. For a couple of years, the only way to get to the monument was by boat. In the spring of 1901, a new, steel bridge to the statue was constructed. The Cole Manufacturing Company of Lakeport built the bridge, at a cost of approximately $1000.
An April, 1901 Laconia Democrat article noted that “Mayor J. Alonzo Greene was working fifteen men and three teams on the abutments for the new steel bridge to Endicott Rock at the Weirs. Contractor Gagne has charge of the stone work. William Morrison is superintending the grading at the shore end. Plans are being perfected for the addition of a lifesize statue of an Indian with a spear to ornament the new structure.” (The statue was added later that season, but instead of a spear, the Indian wielded a tomahawk.)
In late June, 1901, the Laconia Democrat reported that “…the steel bridge arrived at the Weirs on June 15. Before the freight train came to a stop, Dr. Greene had a barge started for the wharf, and a gang of men ready to transfer the bridge from the railroad car to the float. In a very few hours, the workmen were putting the bridge together and placing it on the abutments…The structure will be completed this week but it will take several days for the paint to dry…The lifesize Winnipesaukee bronze Indian, who is to do guard duty on top of the Endicott Rock memorial, arrived on June 27.” (The statue was actually made of zinc, not bronze, and was somewhat smaller than life-size.)
