Colonial Hotel
The Colonial Hotel was built in 1888. It replaced the original Senter House, which had burned down. When first built, the hotel retained the name of the Senter House. The new hotel was much larger than the original. It became the grand hotel of Center Harbor. New owners changed the name to the Colonial Hotel in 1904. The Colonial burnt down in 1919 and was not replaced.
The New Senter House
The new Senter House opened on July 2, 1888. The above photographs were part of a series of 24 sold by Concord photographer W.G.C. Kimball, as listed below.
The new Senter House advertisement, 1893.
The Colonial
A gallery of images of the Colonial Hotel.
A view of the lake from the Colonial
The Whittier Pine
The famed poet of Lake Winnipesaukee, John Greenleaf Whittier, was a frequent visitor to Center Harbor, where he stayed at the Sturtevant farm at the top of Sunset Hill, about a mile and a half from Center Harbor village, on what is now Dane Rd (Route 25B). Greenleaf spent many summers there. The farm had a sweeping view over Squam Lake, which, being to the west of the farm, would also be the direction in which the sun would set. Whittier enjoyed the huge white pine on the farm grounds, which he memorialized in a poem. The tree came to be known as the Whittier Pine, and survived until 1950, when it was struck by lighting. Below are many postcards of the Whittier Pine. A corner of Squam Lake is seen in a couple of the postcards.
Location of the Sturtevant farm indicated by the red arrowhead. It was on a spur of Sunset Hill, not atop the main hill. The adjacent road is Newman Rd.
The Anakim were a race of giants described in the bible.
