Museums

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, in Wolfeboro, 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.

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.

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. (The Laconia society does not have a museum, but frequently organizes exhibits at the Laconia public library.)

Other historical societies on Lake Winnipesaukee include the Wolfeboro Historical Society, which has a museum, and the Alton Historical Society, which like Laconia, 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 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

Souvenir Folders

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

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

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.