Lees Mills wreck on shore

Rattlesnake Gal · 10-06-2009, 05:05 PM

Tallyho is the one who knew where to look. The pictures are from Farewell Old Mount Washington by Edward H. Blackstone. The story of the steamboat era on Lake Winnipesaukee. A great read! I was lucky enough to find a hardcover copy, which I love.

hemlock · 10-06-2009, 05:50 PM

The wreck you saw is the remains of a work barge that Will Raymond used to use in construction on the lake many years ago. It is mentioned in Frances Stevens book. I think it was being modified and it broke up and was abandoned on the shore there.The railroad tracks mentioned are just to the right of the barge. Basically there are wooden beams, tracks and a couple of old railroad wheel carriages that were used to pull the barge, out of the water. They are submerged but you can see them if you look carefully My boys and I call the old barge the Bones.

hemlock · 10-06-2009, 06:03 PM

Also as far as the old steamboats I had talked to Dave Thompson and he said that they were broken up and removed in the 50s by the town
after a hurricane had destroyed several buildings at the Lees mill landing. I remember him saying that the hull of one of the boats was still sound as it was made of cypress and he had hopes of one day salvaging it.

Redwing · 10-07-2009, 11:30 AM

Delighted that you were able to speak with Dave Thompson and clarify the various scenarios. We kayak in that area frequently and have always thought that we were looking at the remains of old railroad tracks, and now we know that is the case (among the work barge remains)! Nice to have your complete information.... many, many thanks! As I said earlier, Dave Thompson knows every square inch of that area and his knowledge of the history of steamboats (and specific steamboats) is second to none!

NoBozo · 10-07-2009, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hemlock

The wreck you saw is the remains of a work barge that Will Raymond used to use in construction on the lake many years ago. It is mentioned in Frances Stevens book. I think it was being modified and it broke up and was abandoned on the shore there.The railroad tracks mentioned are just to the right of the barge. Basically there are wooden beams, tracks and a couple of old railroad wheel carriages that were used to pull the barge, out of the water. They are submerged but you can see them if you look carefully My boys and I call the old barge the Bones.

I suspect the railroad rails and ties might have been fastened to the deck of the barge and were used to transport Rail Cars across the lake. In the old days, wealthy people did their travelling in their own Private rail cars....sort of like todays Large motor homes.

NB

loopcharged · 12-31-2015, 07:50 AM

I grew up here with a 14' Mirrocraft and a 10 Johnson. I know every inch of the bay. What you are looking at in these pix is the wreckage of the hurricane of 38. The large wall is a part of a building that once was at the landing. The main part of town stood here prior to the storm. Bob Lamprey of Lamprey and Lamprey real estate had pictures hanging in his lobby when I was a boy that showed the village at Lee's Mill. There were tracks that descended down from the mountain when I was a boy in the 70's. They disappeared in the 80's. Probably scrappers. There are still tracks on trusses with a rail car still in the water near the shore and are very visible during mid-summer when water levels are lower. There are many steam boats out in the bay, some of them still tied to docks wrecked during the storm. In the 70's before the milfoil took over many were still visible on a sunny day.

SunsetPointWentworth · 01-12-2016, 08:05 PM

It would be nice to get a definitive answer to this. To my eyes, it looks like a boardwalk type of dock or the railway that Diver was talking about. It's very long for a barge. But, I suppose if the barge hauled logs, it needed to be massive.

10-06-2009, 05:05 PM	#1
Rattlesnake Gal Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Central NH Posts: 5,252 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 1,451 Thanked 1,349 Times in 475 Posts	Farewell Old Mount Washington Tallyho is the one who knew where to look. The pictures are from Farewell Old Mount Washington by Edward H. Blackstone. The story of the steamboat era on Lake Winnipesaukee. A great read! I was lucky enough to find a hardcover copy, which I love. Attached Images

12-31-2015, 07:50 AM	#6
loopcharged Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 26 Thanks: 17 Thanked 14 Times in 6 Posts	Wreckage at Lee's Mill I grew up here with a 14' Mirrocraft and a 10 Johnson. I know every inch of the bay. What you are looking at in these pix is the wreckage of the hurricane of 38. The large wall is a part of a building that once was at the landing. The main part of town stood here prior to the storm. Bob Lamprey of Lamprey and Lamprey real estate had pictures hanging in his lobby when I was a boy that showed the village at Lee's Mill. There were tracks that descended down from the mountain when I was a boy in the 70's. They disappeared in the 80's. Probably scrappers. There are still tracks on trusses with a rail car still in the water near the shore and are very visible during mid-summer when water levels are lower. There are many steam boats out in the bay, some of them still tied to docks wrecked during the storm. In the 70's before the milfoil took over many were still visible on a sunny day.

10-06-2009, 05:50 PM	#2
hemlock Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 62 Thanks: 1 Thanked 37 Times in 17 Posts	The wreck you saw is the remains of a work barge that Will Raymond used to use in construction on the lake many years ago. It is mentioned in Frances Stevens book. I think it was being modified and it broke up and was abandoned on the shore there.The railroad tracks mentioned are just to the right of the barge. Basically there are wooden beams, tracks and a couple of old railroad wheel carriages that were used to pull the barge, out of the water. They are submerged but you can see them if you look carefully My boys and I call the old barge the Bones.

10-06-2009, 06:03 PM	#3
hemlock Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 62 Thanks: 1 Thanked 37 Times in 17 Posts	Also as far as the old steamboats I had talked to Dave Thompson and he said that they were broken up and removed in the 50s by the town after a hurricane had destroyed several buildings at the Lees mill landing. I remember him saying that the hull of one of the boats was still sound as it was made of cypress and he had hopes of one day salvaging it.

10-07-2009, 11:30 AM	#4
Redwing Deceased Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New Haven, Connecticut and summer resident of Moultonborough, NH since 1952 Posts: 216 Thanks: 324 Thanked 43 Times in 27 Posts	Delighted that you were able to speak with Dave Thompson and clarify the various scenarios. We kayak in that area frequently and have always thought that we were looking at the remains of old railroad tracks, and now we know that is the case (among the work barge remains)! Nice to have your complete information.... many, many thanks! As I said earlier, Dave Thompson knows every square inch of that area and his knowledge of the history of steamboats (and specific steamboats) is second to none!

The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to loopcharged For This Useful Post:
ApS (01-12-2016), Descant (12-31-2015), Senter Cove Guy (12-31-2015), Tallyho (12-31-2015), wifi (12-31-2015)

01-12-2016, 08:05 PM	#7
SunsetPointWentworth Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: claremont/wolfeboro Posts: 155 Thanks: 114 Thanked 51 Times in 26 Posts	It would be nice to get a definitive answer to this. To my eyes, it looks like a boardwalk type of dock or the railway that Diver was talking about. It's very long for a barge. But, I suppose if the barge hauled logs, it needed to be massive.