A view of Lake Winnisquam from the top of Ladd Mountain in Meredith. Photo taken on September 9, 2025. View is looking SE towards the Belknap Range, which can be seen in the far distance.

An aerial view of the Winnisquam bridge, looking north. The 1974 bridge was the third version of the bridge, and was redecked and repaved in 2006-2007 at a cost of about $3.5 million. The towns of Sanbornton and Tilton meet on the west side of the bridge (left side in this photo), with Sanborton to the north and Tilton to the south. On the east side of the bridge (right side in this photo) is the town of Belmont.

An old tinted postcard of the second Winnisquam bridge. This bridge was built in 1916 and lasted almost 60 years before replacement in 1974. The third, 1974 bridge was built just north of the 1916 bridge, which was then removed. The 1974 bridge is 408′ long and 44′ wide and cost slightly over $1 million to build.

An old photo of the second Winnisquam bridge from the 1930’s, looking west, towards Tilton, taken from the southern Belmont side of the bridge.

Below, a 1940’s linen postcard. The view is looking southeast towards the Winnisquam Gardens from the northern Sanbornton side.

The view direction is unclear in this photo.

Looking north from a good distance away, the five distinct sections of the bridge become more apparent.

At one time, seaplane rides were offered on the Sanbornton side of the bridge – hence the name, Aviation Point.

The guest house at Aviation Point was owned by the F.A. Putnam Manufacturing Co. and called “The Sign of the Wings”. The house was furnished with an “Ideal dining room, heated, with three porches over the water, affords a perfect place to relax and eat the best of food, prepared in a clean kitchen with modern gas cooking equipment and electric refrigeration, supervised by a personnel whose aim is to please. Try our special $1.00 Dinner. Operated by E. Gertrude Bennett, Hostess”. Later on, Dorothy Barnard was the hostess. The telephone number was “Laconia 1190”. Aviation Point burned down in 1958. Below is a postcard of the guest house property to the rear.

Here are very old postcards of the original bridge, when it was still a wooden structure, and more commonly known as the Mosquito Bridge! The bridge was named Mosquito not because the area was mosquito infested, but because the hump on one side resembled the back of a mosquito. This bridge was built between 1840 and 1844 and lasted a little over 70 years before it suddenly collapsed in December, 1915.  It was quickly replaced in 1916. The first postcard is looking east towards Belmont from the Tilton side of the bridge. To correct the caption on the first postcard, the bridge is located “near”, not in, Laconia.

The bridge did not have a hump when it was first constructed. The hump was added in 1868 in order to allow for passage of small steamboats. This raised the bridge from 5′ to 11′ high. The hump was created on the Tilton side because it was shallower on that side and easier to raise the bridge height.

Looking northwest towards Sanbornton from the southern Belmont side of the Mosquito bridge. The hump of the Mosquito bridge was on the Tilton/Sanbornton side.

Below is the oldest photo of the original Mosquito bridge. It is a stereoview by G.H. Tibbets, numbered #17 in a series, and titled Winnisquam House and Mosquito Bridge. The photo shows a relatively flat and level bridge, dating the photo before 1868, when the “mosquito” hump was added.

The Winnisquam House from a distance. From a stereoview by W.L. Wilder.

Color postcard of the Winnisquam House.

Cabins at Winnisquam House, East Tilton, N.H.

Here are a couple of old maps of Lake Winnisquam.The first map is very large, about 5′ square. To see the first map in detail, click here. The second map is very small, as it fits on a postcard.

This gas station, marina, and dance hall was located on the southern Belmont side of the bridge. The Winnisquam Gardens are noted on the above postcard map. Today, these structures are known as Winnisquam Marine. Below, a photo of the Winnisquam Gardens.

Below, much older views, circa 1912-1915, shows the Winnisquam Gardens building when it was John Morrison’s general store. Morrison would later relocate just down the street to a new store building (see further below).

Below, a nicely colorized postcard of John Morrison’s relocated store, in the late 1940’s, when it had also become a garage and gas station. In the colorized postcard, one can see not only the John Morrison store, but also the Winnisquam Gardens, further down the road, on the left of the colorized postcard. Note the caption “Looking South from Overpass”. At the time of this postcard, Route 3 passed over the B&M railroad line, which continued south on the east shore of Lake Winnisquam a couple more miles, before crossing to the west shore in Lochmere. In 1974, when the new Winnisquam Bridge was built, the overpass was removed, and the Route 3 railroad crossing was reconfigured into a grade crossing at ground level. Crossing lights were installed in December 1999.

Another photo of the Route 3 overpass. These views of the overpass are looking south. The Winnisquam Bridge would be to the right. The Winnisquam railroad station can be seen through the arches of the bridge.

The station was located on the west side of the tracks, near the lake. The road seen in this real photo postcard is Winnisquam Way, which runs parallel to Route 3.

Noted on the postcard map above was Mohawk Island. Today one can see the island just offshore of the Lord Hampshire Motel & Cottages.

Here are a few more postcards of Mohawk Island. While an island now, 19th century maps (see below) show that it used to be a peninsula called Mohawk Point, attached to the Belmont side of Sanbornton Bay by a narrow isthmus. Apparently the level of the lake rose enough after the construction of the Lochmere dam to submerge the isthmus, severing the point from the mainland. Sanbornton Bay was first known as Middle Bay; today it is known as the southern section of Lake Winnisquam. The northern section of Lake Winnisquam was known as Great Bay, while Silver Lake was known as Little Bay. Lake Winnisquam was a favorite fishing place of the Pennacooks, “where they often mustered as many as three hundred canoes at a single gathering.”

The postcards note that this was the “Scene of a famous Indian battle.” In 1685 an alliance was made between the Pennacook and the Pequaket to defend themselves against the Mohawk, but the Mohawks prevailed in one famous battle, according to the following account: “Tradition informs us that a large body of Indians belonging to or inhabiting this region were once surprised and driven upon a point of land in the Great Bay upon the Gilmanton shore, where they were overpowered by a superior force, and cut to pieces.” (Belmont was part of Gilmanton at this time.) The account continues, ” The victorious Indians in this case were the Mohawks and it is said that they used stratagem to decoy the Pequawkets, feigning a retreat down the bay in their canoes…”. When the Pequawkets pursued their enemies, they were “ambushed under the banks of the point.”

Aerial views of Lake Winnisquam looking north. The submerged isthmus between Mohawk Point and Mohawk Island is evident in the foreground of the photos, while the Winnisquam bridge is seen in the center of the photos.

Another view of Lake Winnisquam from East Tilton.

Views with the Belknap Mountains

Boats on a Lake Winnisquam beach, 1958

1950’s Lake Winnisquam Scenic Center Association Brochure and Map