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The Lakeport Dam

The Lakeport dam on November 21, 2008, looking upstream from the Lake Opechee side. For more information about its “run-of-the-river” hydroelectric power generation capability, click here. The original 200kw power generating facility here was a combination hydro and internal combustion plant built by the Laconia Gas & Electric company that was retired in 1932.

For extensive information about the operations of the Lakeport dam, click here. Move your cursor over the triangles on the NH map and click on the Lakeport Dam triangle. Or, click on the “List” tab, and scroll down to and then select LKPN3, the code for the Lakeport Dam. Then, click on the “Station Information” tab at the top right.

The vestiges of the 1861-1957 wing dam are seen in this modern photo below. The stone wall separating the north bank of the spillway from the small park above was the location of the former wing dam.

According to an 1816 map, the falls at this location dropped 8 feet 5 inches. (In 1816, Lakeport was known as “Folsoms Bridge”.)

The Lakeport Dam is depicted below on a 1917 postcard. The view is looking downstream from the Paugus Bay side towards the Elm Street bridge, newly built in concrete in 1914.

In late November, 2003, a new Elm Street bridge opened, 25′ downstream of the previous bridge. The new bridge was wider, with underground utilities, and aligned Elm Street and Clinton Street.

The Elm Street Bridge, looking towards Lakeport Square (in the far distance).