New Hampshire Lakes Region History in Pictures

Milton, once a parish of Rochester, became an official town in 1802, when Lt. Elijah Horn established the first public meeting house at his home on Plummer's Ridge. For years a quiet farming community, Milton became a booming mill town when the area's ice industry experienced tremendous success in the 1880s. The Milton Ice Company, one of five such businesses in town, shipped up to 100 carloads of ice to Boston every day. The town's location as a halfway mark between Boston and the White Mountains also made it a popular stopping place for travelers. In Milton and the New Hampshire Farm Museum, Sarah Ricker takes us on a visual tour through this historic town, illustrating the town's progress in rare images that date from the 1880s to the 1930s. View landmarks in the central areas of town, including West Milton, Central Milton, and Plummer's Ridge, and the various mills that have fostered the community's economic growth. As you leaf through the pages of this book, you will take an amazing trip back in time to the early days of this close-knit community. (Amazon description)

The history of Meredith as a corporate town dates back more than two hundred thirty years. Like most older towns, especially those devoted largely to agriculture, Meredith has greatly diminished in territory since its original incorporation; unlike most New Hampshire towns of this size, however, it is progressive and prosperous, and the valuation of the town has steadily increased. This growth is the result of Meredith's change from an agricultural town to an industrial town to today's prosperous four-season resort in the heart of the Lakes Region, at the foothills of the White Mountains. Meredith, part of the Then & Now series, places vintage images alongside contemporary photographs, taken by photographer Aaron Ober, to show the changes that have taken place in this area through the years. (description from Amazon)

Wolfeboro Historical Society board members Christine L. Fipphen and Joan E. Kimball have assembled the choicest photographs from the society's collection together with some excellent images generously loaned to them by citizens. After carefully researching the material, they have come up with Wolfeboro, a fascinating tribute to one of New Hampshireís favorite towns. (description from Amazon)

Some of the topics covered in this book include New Hampshire Lakes Region, Montreal Railroad, Maine Railroad, Mount Washington, Alton Bay, Bear Island, Center Harbor, Winnipesaukee River, Pemigewasset River, White Mountains, Eastern Railroad, Native American, Squam Lake, Lake Wentworth, Merrimack River, Mount Chocorua, Red Hill, Crystal Lake, Silver Lake, Gilmanton Iron Works, Glendale Station, Upper Parish, West Ossipee.

Lake Winnipesaukee and its environs attracted and sustained a variety of cultures over the past centuries, from early American Indian tribes, to New World settlers, to today's seasonal tourists. Whether Indian hunter, aspiring pioneer, or modern-day angler, each in turn, fell for the region's wild allure: its sheer natural beauty, fertile soils, and waters teeming with an assortment of fish, including great quantities of shad, salmon, pickerel, smelt, and trout. Within this magnificent setting, scores of hardy, resolute frontier men and women worked tirelessly to fashion homes and towns along the bays, tributaries, islands, and shoreline of the lake.

Lake Winnipesaukee documents the history of the region from its early Native American heritage to the lasting legacy of the first American settlers. With over 150 accompanying illustrations, the many stories recorded in this unique volume evoke memories of a simpler way of life, when the lake was evolving from a scattering of humble villages, like Laconia, Meredith, and Wolfeboro, and just beginning to toy with a budding tourist industry. Readers of many generations will enjoy reliving the early summer camps, upstart businesses, and the variety of entertainment and recreation the lakeís waters have provided, such as canoe trips, steamship rides, and ski boat adventures. (description from Amazon)

The Lake Winnipesaukee region has a long and well-deserved history as one of the most scenic and popular areas in New England. The lake's appeal lies in its stunning mountain ranges, its fleet of steamboats, and its colorful islands and port towns. Boats have been an integral part of the region's economy since the early settlement of the area, providing transportation for work and leisure.

Bruce Heald, Ph.D., has created here a photographic journey through time that enriches and enhances pleasant memories of the past on Lake Winnipesaukee. His collection of historic images shows the evolution of the lake's watercraft, from passenger steamboats to working mail boats. (description from Amazon)

Cemeteries Around Lake Winnipesaukee, a photographic study, reveals the compelling history of the region from the time when Native Americans first inhabited the lake's shore to the 1900s. These cemeteries are some of the oldest cultural and archaeological remnants of the past around the lake, and their scenic locations and gravestones and monuments provide a tangible link to the past. Through the author's collection of photographs, readers can see the final resting places of people as diverse as early settlers, ministers, doctors, Revolutionary and Civil War veterans, drowning victims, and even a controversial author. Readers will also discover the art and business of gravestone carving and learn about some of the region's early practitioners in this unusual art form. (description from Amazon)

Filled with delightful images of long ago New Hampshire, this photo history does an excellent job of entertaining and informing. The old photos are well-captioned and lead the reader through the development of the Wakefield-Brookfield villages including colonial experiences, the mills, early camps around the lakes, the importance of the railroad, and the ice industry. I was amazed that 25 railroad cars of ice left the area daily during the peak of the ice harvesting, before modern refrigeration.
What a treat to see long ago families in their old-fashioned clothing, old schoolhouses, and other scenes of bygone times. I loved it. (review by Virginia Allain)

Includes information or photos of Bearcamp River, Chocorua River, Civil War, Page Hill, Runnells Hall, Arthur Walden, Chocorua Lake, Roland Currier, Admiral Byrd, Chickville Cemetery, Carroll County, and Chinook Trail.