In early 1861, Loammi Bean purchased the 150 acre Nestledown Farm in Weirs Beach, which later became "The Plantation House" (see below), a hotel accommodating 68 guests, and still later, the site of today's housing developments on and around Pendleton Road, off Route 11B.
         In July, 1861, Loammi enlisted in the 8th New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment. He was 37 years old. On October 27, 1862, he was was one of the first casualties at the Battle of Georgia Landing in Louisiana. His daughter erected this monument in his honor, and in tribute to "the memory of the thousands of other gallant soldiers who laid down their lives so that the Union might be preserved." The statue was dedicated August 29, 1894. It was destroyed by lightning on July 23, 1931.



Below, various views of the fountain.



 


The statue was not only a memorial, it was a working water fountain. Two troughs, facing North and South, were at just the right height to keep the carriage horses well watered, while two spigots, placed higher up on the statue and facing East and West, were available to quench a person's thirst. Click here for some additional views of the statue.



Below - the original, elaborate Nestledown estate, which was severely damaged by fire on April 23, 1923.







Below, a late 1940's brochure for the Plantation House, a "Modern Summer Resort Hotel", showing the remaining buildings of the former Nestledown estate. They too burned down, on October 7, 1954. Today there are condominiums and houses spread throughout the 200 acres of the former estate. The estate's valuable lake front property, at one time known as Pendleton Beach, is now the site of several elaborate private homes.

 

Below, an advertisement for the Plantation House from the Lakes Region Association's 1949 Where To guidebook.



An old postcard of Pendleton Beach.