Methodist Campground Auditorium
The Speakers Stand in the Veterans Grove was not the only stand for speakers in Weirs Beach. There was another, the Methodist Campground Auditorium. In the first photo below, a hexagonal structure is emblazoned with the entreaty “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE”. (First photo from a stereoview by Tebbetts and Lindsay, Laconia, NH.) In the second photo, the entreaty is “TEMPERANCE”. (Second photo from stereoview #766, published by B.W. Kilburn, Littleton, N.H.) In the third photo, of a funeral service, the entreaty is “LOVE NEVER FAILETH”. Note the church bell high up, on the right side of the third photo.
A photo of the Methodist Campground Auditorium from an 1890s souvenir booklet.
The Methodist Campground Auditorium is seen, bottom left, in an August, 1899 calendar.
Another photo by Tebbetts of the Methodist Campground Auditorium shows the benches, and a house behind the benches.
A similar photo by Tebbetts.
Eventually a series of houses were erected surrounding the Methodist Campground Auditorium in a circular formation, and a street was built fronting the houses. That street is now known as Methodist Circle, seen in the photo below.
In a later postcard, titled “The Auditorium – Methodist Campground”, the Methodist Campground Auditorium has been converted from an outdoor amphitheater to a covered, indoor structure. One can still see the hexagonal origins of the structure.
About one hundred years later than the Auditorium postcard, the auditorium building at the center of Methodist Circle is now a private home. It retains the distinctive cupola at the top.
A September, 1911 Sanborn Fire Insurance map shows the layout of Methodist Circle.
The Laconia and Manchester houses, as indicated by the arrow on the Sanborn map. There were many other NH towns with their own houses. The towns on the map, in a clockwise direction, were Gilford, East Tilton, Gilmanton, Piermont, Warren, Penacook, Lisbon, Franklin, Manchester, Laconia, Plymouth, Concord, Haverhill, Tilton, Littleton, Sandwich, Rumney, East Haverhill, and North Haverhill.
The 1911 map shows 19 town houses, and 3 vacant lots, for a total of 22 separate town properties, plus two more properties (“Hate to Quit It” and “Idylwild”) along the waterfront. Some of the town lots were later consolidated. Today, there are 15 separate lots surrounding Methodist Circle, plus the two waterfront lots. Four of the houses retain their names, as indicated by signage on the buildings – the Lisbon, Rumney, East Haverhill, and “Hate to Quit It” houses.
