Dr. J. Alonzo Greene (J.A. Greene)
Late 1890s photos of the Hotel Weirs and its personnel. A young Dr. Greene is the gentleman on the far right of both photos. Both photos have been colorized. The first colorized photo is ©2023 and may not be used without permission. It was colorized by a human, not an AI. The colorizer was Dana Keller, who specializes in colorization of historical photos. The second photo was colorized by AI in 2026.
During its 44 years of existence, the New Hotel Weirs was owned for the longest period of time by Dr. J. Alonzo Greene (J.A. Greene) (1845-1917). It was under his ownership that the hotel was greatly expanded to become the grandest hotel in Weirs Beach. Dr. Greene was a fascinating character who served as Mayor of Laconia from 1901-1903. He also served as the President of the NHVA in 1897. Below are various biographical articles concerning Dr. Greene.
From New Hampshire Men, published in 1893 in Concord, NH:
Below is Dr. Greene’s February, 1917 obituary. His gravestone, located at Laconia’s Bayside Cemetery, can be seen online here.
Besides Dr. Greene’s ownership of the New Hotel Weirs, Greene’s ownership of the Roxmont Poultry Farm on Moultonborough Neck was his other principal land holding. Below are selected pages of a brochure from the farm. The farm operated from 1889-1896, consisted of 1,300 acres, and produced 120,000 chickens annually. For more about the Roxmont Poultry Farm, click here.
In 1907, Dr. Greene converted the former farm property to the Winnipesaukee Inn. The Inn featured a billiard hall, bowling alley, golf course, sandy beach, boat house, tennis courts, livery, guide service, and a U.S. post office. In 1919, the Inn was sold, and became the Geneva Point Center. Scroll down for photos of the Winnipesaukee Inn. Greene’s Roxmont Castle residence, which was on Long Island, across the bridge from Moultonborough Neck, burned in 1932.
A detail from the 1892 Hurd map of Moultonborough shows the location of Roxmont Farm on Moultonborough Neck and Roxmont Castle on Long Island.
An 1899 letter from Dr. Greene, written on letterhead of the Roxmont farm, asking for support for the nomination of the Republican party for the election to NH’s First Congressional District. Greene’s effort to secure the Republican nomination was unsuccesful.
Photo of the Roxmount chicken coop shows there were at least 3 dozen bays. Also shown in the photo is Roxmount Castle and the livestock barn. The barn was converted to the Winnipesaukee Inn.
The Winnipesaukee Inn
The Winnipesaukee Inn
The Winnepesaukee Inn and Cottages.
The Winnipesaukee Inn, 1960s.
The Winnipesaukee Inn, 1970s. On the third floor, the middle window has been replaced by a door. Outside stairs have been added to the second floor.
A real photo postcard of the Winnipesaukee Inn
The Winnipesaukee Inn in 1912. The Inn had its own post office.
The Inn, Geneva Point Camp, Winnipesukee, N.H.
Geneva Point Camp, Winnipesaukee, N.H. — The Inn
A baseball game at the Inn. Postmarked in 1931.
The Long Island Hotel
The postcard below is captioned “Long Island Hotel from the Dock, Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H.” The original house was built in 1821 by John Brown and was accepting guests by 1861, when it was marked as the “Long Island Ho” on a map of Carroll County. John Brown’s son, George K. Brown, continually expanded the house over the years, until by 1900, it could accommodate 50 guests. It was a straight shot down the hill to the large, busy Long Island wharf, which was one of the regular stops on the lake for the Mount Washington, the Lady of the Lake, and other lake steamers.
Obscured by trees in the colorized postcard, this was the Long Island hotel. From 1878-1917, it contained the Long Island post office. Around 1911, it was renamed the Long Island Inn. The hotel building still stands today. It is no longer an inn, but it is still owned by the Brown family.
