14. Lake Winnipesaukee

Located: 1st floor conference room, behind main hallway exhibit #13 (Old Man of the Mountain)
Exhibited print: Bird’s Eye Map of Lake Winnipesaukee
G. W. Armstrong, D.R. &N Co., Boston, 1903

This 1903 print from Boston’s G. W. Armstrong is one of the few that manages to capture the entire scope of Lake Winnipesaukee’s majesty. Somehow the glacial lake’s deep and vivid past is encapsulated within a single colorful frame. Whether it is the bustling commercial life of the Lake’s 8 towns, its one-of-a-kind array of 253 different islands, its secret fishing holes, or the breathtaking mountains overlooking it all, this image delivers the entire package to its viewer. Picturing a lake whose history made it a home for countless peoples, spanning from local Native American tribes to German Ambassadors, may seem like a tall task. However, a view such as this leaves no doubt as to how Lake Winnipesaukee came to be the New Hampshire treasure that it is.