Methodists

The Methodist faith originated in 18th century England, when preacher John Wesley proposed a “method” for encouraging deeper commitment to Christian life that put an emphasis on group meetings. In the early 1870’s, Methodists discovered that Weirs Beach provided the perfect setting for their summer religious meetings. In January, 1874, 13 acres were purchased for $2000 for a “camp-meeting ground.” An outdoor auditorium was quickly built to provide a central place to gather for the meetings. By the 1890’s, the Methodist campground had evolved into a densely settled colony of cottages and cabins close by the lake. A path along the shoreline was built and became very popular for summer strolls. Click on the link for many more views of the shore path.

Plan of Methodist Campground circa 1885. The Lakeside House, shown on the map, was built in 1880, so the map was drawn up after that. Centenary Avenue was the central thoroughfare of the Campgrounds, its name derived from the 100th anniversary of the USA in 1876.

Three streets on this old map no longer exist, while two were renamed. All the other named streets on the map remain to this day. Lake Shore Avenue is now the front lawn of several lakefront houses. Wesley Avenue was never developed. Epworth Avenue was a narrow dirt path that ran to the lake from Centenary Ave, and was completely wiped out when the Akwa Marina clubhouse and cabanas were built. Clark Avenue has been renamed Allan Avenue. The portion of Centenary Avenue bordering the Lakeside House has been renamed Weeks Street.

As decades passed, the summer cottages and cabins were sold off to others, so there is little Methodist character to the area today. However, this area of Weirs Beach is still referred to as the “campgrounds” and a principle street is still named “Methodist Circle”.

In 1886, the Methodists built a church on Tower Street. After the church burned on November 9, 1924, in the Great Weirs Beach Fire, a new church was built in 1926, which is still in use today.

Shoreline of the Methodist Campground.

Colorized version of the previous postcard.

Camp Meeting Grounds, The Weirs, N.H.

The 1886-1924 Methodist church

Gallery of Methodist Campground cottages. Photo #1 is a view north on Centenary Ave. The faint outline of Brickyard Mountain can be seen in the distance. Photo #2 is also of Centenary Ave, looking in the opposite direction. Note the lack of electrical utility poles. Electrical service did not arrive in Weirs Beach until 1884, so the photo dates before then. Photo #3 is the entrance to Morris Avenue. An arc sign has lettering for the Chateau de Lis, a tiny bit of whose roof can be seen in the photo. See below for a contemporary photo of Morris Avenue. Photo #4’s location in the campground is unknown.

A contemporary, 2025 photo of Morris Avenue. The red house, second on the left, matches the second house on the left in the old photo #3 above. Otherwise, there is nothing remaining today from the old photo.

A 1941 circular for the 69th annual summer meeting of the Methodists. This indicates that the first meeting took place in 1873. The “Great Stone Face” in the photo was also known as Profile Rock, many more images of which can be found on the Shore Path webpage on this website.

Besides the Methodists, many other Christian denominations found Weirs Beach an ideal place for their week-long summer meetings, as did the New Hampshire Music Teachers’ Association, which had begun its annual retreat in 1890. In 1893, the Baptists held their meeting from July 15 to July 22; the Music Teacher’s held their 4th annual music festival from July 24 to July 28; the Unitarians held theirs from July 30 to August 6; the Universalists held theirs from August 7 to August 13; and the Methodists held theirs from August 14 to August 20.

In 1886, many different religious groups held Camp Meetings at Weirs Beach. The Salvation Army held its meeting from June 21-July 5; the Temperance movement, July 17-18 and August 9-15; the Unitarians, July 25-August 1; the Universalists, August 3-8; and the Methodists, August 16-21. From the 1886 newspaper “The Weirs Record and Christian Worker”, published by the Methodist Episcopal Church and its Pastor, Rev. F.C. Libby. An article in the newspaper described the fundraising efforts to complete the church building, which had already been erected but needed to be “finished and furnished”. The efforts were successful and the church opened later that season.

Contemporary sign at the entrance to Methodist Circle