Museums

Boating History

No history of Weirs Beach would be complete without addressing its intimate connection with the Lake and the water craft that traveled upon it: luxurious passenger steamers and elegant, mahogony & brass boats. The New Hampshire Boat Musuem (603) 569-4554, with two locations, one in Wolfeboro, and one in Moultonborough, has many displays, which, enhanced with archival photos, trophies and models, bring to life a truly grand era of boating. The Boat Museum originally opened in Weirs Beach on June 10, 1997, in what is now the Alpenrose Plaza, before later moving to Wolfeboro. The new branch in Moultonborough opened in 2024.

Miss Winnipesaukee speedboat rides were offered for 42 years (1930–1972) at Irwin’s Winnipesaukee Gardens. (Click on the link and scroll down for more photos of the Miss Winnipesaukee.) A man with a megaphone advertising the “10-mile”, 20-minute rides could be heard all over Weirs Beach. The megaphone man’s pitch went something like the following: “Come on down for the next thrilling Miss Winnipesaukee speedboat ride! Enjoy a 10 mile, 20 minute ride! See the mountains and ride the waves on the fastest, safest and largest speedboat in the country! Come onnnnnnn down!”According to Gary Morse, who was a driver and megaphone pitchman in 1972, “…the best part was how we elongated the “Come on down” for as long as we could hold our breath.” The pitch was repeated over and over again throughout the day, every day during the summer season.

At the peak of their popularity in the late 1940’s, there was a fleet of five of the speedboats, all nearly identical, circa 1930 vintage, 26′ or 28′ triple-cockpit Chris Craft runabouts that seated nine. The painting below, “Another Summer” by Alton, NH artist Peter Ferber, depicts the Weirs Beach waterfront in the late 40’s/early 50’s.

You can once again take a classic wooden speedboat ride on the Lake, in either Weirs Beach, Meredith, or Wolfeboro. Since 2023, rides have been offered aboard the 28′, 1928 triple-cockpit Hackercraft “Miss Lauren”. The one-hour ride leaves from North Water Marine in Weirs Beach. Since 2016, rides have been offered aboard the 28′, 1931 triple-cockpit Chris Craft “Miss Meredith”. The 45-minute ride leaves from the EKAL activity center in Meredith, which is part of the Mill Falls complex. An identical craft to the Miss Lauren, the Millie B, has been leaving the Wolfeboro Town Docks for many years. The 45-minute rides are offered by the NH Boat Museum.

Here are some old postcards of wooden boats cruising on the Lake.

Area History

An alternative online source of historical information about Weirs Beach is the historical photograph and postcard galleries on Winnipesaukee.com. Many hours can easily be spent perusing these on-line galleries. One contributor in particular, “McDude”, has posted a massive collection of old Weirs Beach photographs and postcards. His fascinating 3-part Weirs Beach thread can be found here, and his “Weirs Image Gallery” here.

Another online resource is the Images of New Hampshire website, which is replete with photos and graphics on a multitude of topics of interest to any NH visitor.

Those interested in further pursuing the history of the local area will find a gold mine of information at the historical societies and museums in Laconia, Gilford, and Meredith, as well as at the New Hampshire Historical Society. Until recently, the Laconia society did not have a museum, but frequently organized exhibits at the Laconia public library. Its new museum opened on August 25, 2025.

Other historical societies on Lake Winnipesaukee include the Wolfeboro Historical Society, which has a museum, and the Alton Historical Society, which exhibits at the town library.

Other interesting museums to check out in the area are the Historic Belknap Mill Museum (603) 524-8813 in Laconia, the Remick Country Doctor & Farm Museum in Tamworth, the Libby Museum in Wolfeboro, and the Wright WW II Museum, also in Wolfeboro.

Further afield, a host of museums across New Hampshire can be found on the NH Heritage Museum Trail website.

West end of main gallery of Libby Museum, 1930s

Art Galleries

While visiting an art gallery is something one might not associate with a summer vacation, the local artists are quite talented and are worth the time checking out, especially if you enjoy landscapes and depictions of pastoral, rural scenes.

Meredith is the hot spot for art galleries in the area. You can put together a nice morning or afternoon walking tour, and tour them all.

• Bleu Waves Art Gallery (561) 401-1487, at #3 Main Street
• Art of Turning (woodturned art and practical items) (603) 417-4352, at #5 Main Street
• Jeremey Noyes Gallery (photography) (858) 761-2504, at #23 Main Street #1
• The Galleries at 30 Main (603) 279-0557, at #30 Main Street, located a few brick steps up behind the Mill Falls Marketplace, or down an alleyway from Main Street. We love the artwork of Fred Nold, especially his painting of jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, as you walk in.
• BayView Artisan Gallery(603) 207-3110, at 285 Daniel Webster Highway
• League of NH Craftsmen (603) 279-7920, at 279 Daniel Webster Highway, is the oldest gallery in the area. The roots of the League organization began in 1926 in Sandwich, NH, when Sandwich Home Industries was established to allow the townspeople to sell all varieties of home-made items. In 1932, the League of New Hampshire Arts & Crafts was created to replicate the Sandwich model in towns all around the state. Meredith became one of the first towns to have its own shop. In 1968, the name of the League was changed to its current one. There are now seven League galleries in NH.

In a completely opposite direction from Weirs Beach, the Lakes Region Art Association Gallery (603) 998-0029, at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Tilton, features a wide variety of local artists. We especially love the artwork of Martha AuCoin, one of the featured artists.

On the other side of the lake from Weirs Beach, in Wolfeboro, is the Art Place Gallery (603) 569-6159. The gallery is home to artist Peter Ferber, many of whose fantastic paintings of lake scenes can be seen on various pages of this website.

You can visit a great gallery of New Hampshire White Mountain art right from the comfort of your living room or hotel room. The website White Mountain Art & Artists features a photo collection of the artworks of the renowned painters of this popular, 19th century fine art style. If you want to see many of these paintings up close in person, visit the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord. They have a gallery of 61 paintings of this style currently on exhibition.

Museums that have come and gone from the Weirs Beach area include the following:

The Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick was located in Weirs Beach from 1973-1978. (It was located at 1065 Watson Road, in the building that later became the Broken Antler restaurant, and then the Boot Hill Saloon.) A listing in the 1975 Weirs Beach guidebook invites visitors to “…an intelligent approach to the world of the occult and the supernatural”. The museum is now located in Cleveland, Ohio.

The American Police Motorcycle Museum was located in Meredith from circa 2012-2016.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Meredith Auto Museum displayed a variety of antique autos, as seen below.

Souvenir Folders