Derek Strahan

Aside from running the Lost New England blog, Derek Strahan is the author of two books: Lost Springfield, Massachusetts and New England Then and Now, along with being the host of the Western Mass History podcast. Derek is a graduate of Westfield State University, with degrees in English and Regional Planning, and he currently works as a land use and environment planner in Western Massachusetts. Derek also serves on the board of directors of the Springfield Preservation Trust, and he lives in Western Massachusetts with his wife Melissa and their two sons.

Veterans’ Association, Weirs Beach, NH (2)

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The Veterans’ Association buildings along Lakeside Avenue in Weirs Beach, around 1900-1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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Lakeside Avenue in 2015:

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As mentioned in the previous post, Weirs Beach became the annual meeting place for New Hampshire’s Civil War veterans, who established the New Hampshire Veterans’ Association.  Beginning in the 1870s, the organization held its annual reunions here, and over time the different regiments built their own buildings for their members to stay in.  Many of these buildings fronted present-day Lakeside Avenue, as seen in the first photo.  Starting in the foreground is the Headquarters, located at the corner of New Hampshire Avenue, followed by the 3rd Regiment, 7th Regiment, 9th & 11th Regiments, and the Cavalry Headquarters.

All of these buildings were built between 1885 and 1888, and all survive except for the 3rd Regiment Building, which was lost in the same 1924 fire that destroyed the New Hotel Weirs.  The only other significant loss from the first photo is the statue, which was dedicated in 1894 and destroyed by lightning in 1931.  Today, the property is still owned by the New Hampshire Veterans’ Association, and although many other buildings on the site have since been destroyed or demolished, the view along Lakeside Avenue still looks a lot like how it did over a century ago.

Veterans’ Association, Weirs Beach, NH (1)

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The Civil War Monument and the entrance to the New Hampshire Veterans’ Association grounds on Lakeside Avenue in Weirs Beach, around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2015:

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Located on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, the village of Weirs Beach in Laconia became a popular destination in the late 1800s.  Among the many people who traveled north in the summer were the Civil War veterans of the New Hampshire Veterans’ Association, whose reunions were held here.  Over the years, a number of buildings were added to the property, including the Lowell Building, seen in the center of both photos at the top of New Hampshire Avenue.  The sign over the road was added three years later, and in 1885 the Headquarters Building was built to the left, at the corner of Lakeside Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue.  The New Hotel Weirs can be seen on the far right, and the most recent addition to the 1906 scene was the statue, which was dedicated in 1894 in honor of Laommi Bean, a Weirs Beach farmer who was killed in the Civil War.  Today, the sign is long gone, and the statue was struck by lightning and destroyed in 1931. However, the property is still owned by the New Hampshire Veterans’ Association, and many of the historic buildings, including the Headquarters Building and the Lowell Building, have been restored.

New Hotel Weirs, Weirs Beach, NH (2)

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Another view of the New Hotel Weirs on Lakeside Avenue in Weirs Beach, around 1906-1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The location in 2015:

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The first photo was taken sometime after 1906, when the New Hotel Weirs, as explained in this post, had another addition put on, this time to the left of the left tower.  The addition also included the Hotel Weirs Bazaar, which according to the sign over the right window offered “Souvenirs and post cards, novelties, cigars, cigarettes & tobacco, fine confectionery and Moxie, fishing tackle, rods, reels, hooks etc.” Other signs offer Indian baskets, “aluminum & Japanese goods,” Coca Cola, orangeade, phonographs, and post cards.  Visitors from New York could even keep up to date with a copy of the New York Herald.  As mentioned in the previous post, however, a disastrous fire on November 9, 1924 left much of Weirs Beach in ruins, including the hotel.  The site was later rebuilt as a motel and arcade, which is still there today.

New Hotel Weirs, Weirs Beach, NH (1)

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The New Hotel Weirs on Lakeside Avenue in the Laconia village of Weirs Beach, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The location in 2015:

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The late 1800s was a period of great economic growth throughout much of the United States, allowing greater numbers of people the luxury of traveling and vacationing.  The era saw the construction of many large, resort-like hotels, and for the wealthy in the northeast, New Hampshire was a popular destination.  The Laconia village known as “The Weirs” was one such place. It is the place where the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee flow into Paugus Bay on their way to the Merrimack River, and its convenient location on the railroad line led to the construction of the Hotel Weirs in 1880, right across the street from the railroad station.

It was an age of great prosperity in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, and as other hotels continued to open, the Hotel Weirs expanded several times.  The original building was the far-left section, consisting of just the tower and several window bays on either side.  By the time the first photo was taken around 1905, the building had already seen two major additions in 1896 and 1899, and had been renamed the New Hotel Weirs.  It was a popular destination, and its guests included Theodore Roosevelt, who stayed at the hotel during a 1902 visit.

Over the winter of 1905-1906, probably the winter after the photo was taken, it was expanded even more, with another addition to the left of the original section.  However, like so many other grand hotels of its age, the New Hotel Weirs was destroyed in a fire, on November 9, 1924.  The same fire also destroyed a number of nearby buildings, and the hotel was not rebuilt.  The property was later redeveloped, and today it is the site of the Half Moon, which includes a motel, cottages, and arcades.

William King House, Suffield Connecticut (2)

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The William King House in Suffield, seen on February 17, 1938. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey collection.

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The house in 2015:

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Taken from a slightly different angle from the earlier photo in this post, the 1938 view here shows the house as it appeared when it was documented as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey.  Begun in 1933, the project was intended to provide work for unemployed photographers and architects during the Great Depression, in order to document some of the country’s historic properties.  These images and documents are now available online through the Library of Congress, and more photographs of the King House, along with detailed architectural drawings, can be found here.  The house hasn’t changed much in its exterior appearance in the past 77 years, and today it is used as a bed and breakfast, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

William King House, Suffield Connecticut (1)

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The William King House on North Street in Suffield, around 1920. Image from Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Suffield, Connecticut (1921).

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The house in 2015:

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I have found conflicting sources on exactly when this house was built and who built it; apparently there were two William Kings who were living in Suffield at the time, one of whom was known as “Ensign” and the other as “Lieutenant.”  However, according to the book that I got the first photo from, the house was owned by Ensign William King, who was born in 1722 and built the house around 1750.  King’s first wife, Sarah Fuller, died in 1744, just seven months after their marriage, and in 1747 he married Lucy Hathaway.  They had nine children, and their son Seth inherited the property after William’s death in 1791.  It remained in the King family for two more generations, until it was sold in 1883.  Today, the historic house is one of Suffield’s many well-preserved 18th century houses.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is currently the Kingsfield Bed & Breakfast.