Lake Winnipesaukee Live Cam
Overlooking White Mountains at New Hampshire
Lake Winnipesaukee History
Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, with a surface area of about 69 square miles. The history of Lake Winnipesaukee dates back thousands of years, to a time when Native American tribes, such as the Abenaki, lived in the region. The name "Winnipesaukee" comes from a combination of two Algonquian words, "winne" and "pisek," meaning "beautiful water in a high place."
In the early 1600s, European explorers began to arrive in the region, and by the mid-1700s, European settlers had established towns around the lake. These towns were primarily agricultural, but as the industrial revolution began to take hold in the 1800s, tourism also became an important industry in the region.
The first steamboat on Lake Winnipesaukee, the "Mount Washington," was launched in 1872, and soon after, hotels, inns, and summer camps began to spring up around the lake. These businesses catered to tourists from Boston and other nearby cities, who came to the region to escape the heat and pollution of the city and enjoy the natural beauty of the lake.
