Tour of Veterans Campground set for May 18

LACONIA — Once a year, the New Hampshire Veterans’ Association Campground in Weirs Beach is opened for a tour by the public.

This year’s tour will be held on Saturday, May 18. It will begin at the Veterans’ Association Headquarters (pictured) on Lakeside Avenue at 1 p.m., rain or shine.

The surviving buildings of this unique facility mark close to 140 years of history at this resort community.

As historical researcher Sally E. Svenson wrote in Historical New Hampshire, some years ago, “Distinctive as was the reunion culture at the Weirs, the setting for the annual event was even more singular.

“While regimental and G.A.R. reunions elsewhere were held in cities or on temporary campgrounds loaned by state governments or local railroads, in New Hampshire the statewide veterans’ association oversaw the development of a fixed reunion facility which eventually would house a remarkable cluster of buildings without a parallel elsewhere in the country.”

Veterans Association Historian Fred Merrill will again lead the tour.

This annual event is being held in partnership with the Laconia Historical and Museum Society.

The tour is free and open to the public.

For further information, contact Fred Merrill at The NH Veterans’ Association at nhvaorg@gmail.com or visit http://www.thenhva.org/

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