Laconia was established as a city in 1893.
In 1855, Laconia had been incorporated as a town from
lands at Meredith Bridge, Lakeport, Weirs and from a part
of Gilmanton. The town's name was likely taken from the
name of the original company formed by the Captain John
Mason and the Masonian proprietors in order to sell parcels
to the original colonists during the colonial era: the
Laconia Company. Laconia is the county seat for New Hamsphire's
Belknap County which was established by the legislature
in 1840 (and named in honor of one of the most notable
historians of the state, Dr. Jeremy Belknap). Prior to
the establishment of Belknap County, the area now Laconia
was in Strafford County (1773 -1841) and prior to that,
the area was originally in Rockingham County (1771-1773).
Belknap County originally was made up of eight former
Strafford County towns: Alton, Barnstead, Centre Harbor,
Gilford, Gilmanton, Meredith, New Hampton and Sanbornton.
Currently, Belknap County includes Laconia (from Meredith
in 1855) and ten towns.
The native inhabitants had long established one of the
region's largest settlements at the Acquadocton Village
located at the point now known as the Weirs, named after
the wooden fishing weirs of woven branches set in the
waterway at that point by the native peoples. The Weirs
location had been visited by Europeans as early as 1652
by the Endicott surveying party, a point now marked by
Endicott Rock. The Europeans did not return to permanently
settle the area for quite some time owing to the series
of colonial wars being waged across northeastern America
during this period between the English (along with their
Indian allies) and the French (along with their Indian
allies). The last of these wars, the one Americans commonly
call the French and Indian War, was ended by the Treaty
of Paris in 1763. The township of Gilmanton was granted
east of the Winnipesaukee River in 1727, and a colonial
fort was built in the location now Laconia in 1746. European
colonists, however, did not finally settle in the Laconia
area until 1761, that settlement being called Meredith
Bridge and situated in what is now downtown Laconia.
The settlement was for the most part self-sufficient,
the settlers producing their own food, clothing and other
necessities. The main trade center for New Hampshire was
Portsmouth and the settlement was connected to Portsmouth
by a road initiated by Governor John Wentworth, who wished
to have a route from Portsmouth to Canada other than the
Connecticut River. That road is the route now along Pease
Road and Parade Road and on through town along Pleasant,
Province and (in part) Main streets to Route 107. Starting
in 1765, lumber, wheat and corn mills were quickly established
near what is now Mill Street. Taverns soon followed on
what is now Parade Road (Farrar Tavern, 1782, and Davenport
Tavern, 1785).
Manufacturing mills began to appear early in the 19th
century; indeed, in 1800, the Bean Carding Mill was built.
In 1813, the Avery Mill was opened. The importance of
the thriving settlement to the region can be seen by its
selection as a site for the court, built about 1822. In
1832, regional industrial growth based on water power
was marked by the building of the Belknap Mill. Currently
restored but nearly unaltered, this textile mill, still
standing in the heart of Laconia, is listed on the National
Register of Historic Landmarks and is the oldest such
structure in the United States. (A second distinction
for the Mill is that its water-powered wheelhouse from
the early 1900's that once supplied electricity to the
downtown area is the last of its kind in America.) At
the formation of Belknap County in 1840, the courthouse
was designated the county court, establishing the settlement
as the county seat.
This period was also notable for the expansion and improvment
of the regional roads with many major routes being established.
Not only did the roadways in the region improve throughout
the 19th century, but railroads also arrived in the area.
By 1849, there was rail service provided by the Boston-Concord
and the Montreal Railroad through Laconia to Lake Village,
the Weirs and Meredith. During the same period, steamboats
were appearing on Lake Winnipesaukee. The first such vessel,
built at Lake Village in 1833, was the S.S. Belknap (like
the county, named for Jeremy Belknap). In 1848, the Winnipesaukee
Steamboat Company was formed.
Throughout the second half of the 19th century, industry
grew in Laconia in many different areas of endeavor (lumber,
textiles, shoes, hosiery, knitting machinery and needles
for knitting machines); the increasing labor needs of
the region were met in large part by immigration of French
Canadians, many settling in East Lake Village. Among the
emerging industries for the region was tourism, spurred
by the growth of the railroad and the steamship lines.
Lodging needs for these tourists were met by boarding
houses and large hotels. Transportation needs within the
city for tourists and residents alike during this period
were met by trolley cars and the Ranlet Car Company, at
first a builder of railcars, played an important role
in the city's development. The car company became the
city's largest employer, expanding to the building of
trolley cars and subway cars. The Laconia Car Company
was operated from 1848 through to the 1930's.
With the city's growth as an industrial center came a
growing need for fire protection and early private fire
brigades were set up in the city by manufactures to protect
their facilities. The services of these fire brigades
were made available to the public as well by the companies
which had set them up. The main incentive for establishing
this service was the Great Fire of 1860 which destroyed
most of the property on Main Street from Mill Streeet
to Water Street on November 21 of that year. These private
fire-fighting companies were well established by the 1870's
with fire houses, men in uniform, and up-to-date equipment.
A horse-drawn Amoskeag Steamer (a steam-powered water
pump) and its fire brigade were photographed in Laconia
in 1875. In 1888, a photograph of a large fire company
is notable for its two hose wagons and its hook and ladder.
Upon the establishment of Laconia as a city, the City
Council as one of its first acts voted to have the Weirs
firehouse built and that structure was complete in 1894.
Fire brigades and, later, departments were called in by
telegraph and, later, by telephone. In winter, equipment
was placed on trains to get it as close to the fire as
road conditions would allow. It is worth noting that there
were two major disasters in the early 1900's: in 1902
there was an explosion which destoyed the Masonic temple
and the adjacent livery stable. On May 26, 1903, a fire
destroyed Lakeport, with fire companies being brought
in by train from as far as Dover, NH, to fight the Great
Lakeport Fire.
As electricity came to the area (thanks largely to the
abundant water power available), the horse-drawn trolleys
were replaced with electric ones and the last horsecar
run was made in 1898. The car building shops continued
to operate until they closed down in the 1930's, but other
manufacturing remained in the area into the 1960's. The
heavy industries eventually relocated, but Laconia revitalized
its downtown during the 60's and 70's and now the region
has light manufacturing and high-tech industry as well
as a solid base of professionals and service industries.