2023 Annual Appeal
We are proud to share with you that the mission of the Laconia Historical & Museum Society
to “Preserve, Protect and Share” Laconia’s story was enthusiastically strengthened
throughout 2023! With the support of our generous members and close-knit community, we
will continue to successfully uphold our mission in the year to come.
Over this past year, the Society’s program calendar was expanded with community-engaging
events, presentations and an exhibit honoring our local veterans, and bringing our History to Go
program into classrooms and meeting rooms throughout the city. We partnered with Laconia
High School to help promote a love of local history and we offered our community the
opportunity to learn more about their own history with our Family History Services
program. We are excited to be announcing our 2024 calendar of events in January. Be sure that
some of our favorite events from 2023 will return, and that some new and amazing programming
will be added. Next year is going to be incredible!
In addition to our programming goals, the preservation and protection of Laconia’s archives
will remain a primary focus for LHMS in 2024. Already, our Collections Committee, which
we established in 2023, has devoted over 100 volunteer hours toward carefully examining and
accessing artifacts from our collections. Our dedicated committee will continue this important
work to ensure that the items that tell Laconia’s story will be kept safely accessible to all, for many
years to come. Your Annual Appeal gift will directly and significantly support
this important effort!
As an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization the Laconia Historical & Museum
Society is greatly reliant upon the gracious contributions, we receive from
community supporters like you. With your help, we can and will achieve our 2024 goals!
We thank you for helping us share Laconia’s story!
With appreciation,
Tara Shore, President Ethan Wood, Secretary
Heidi Smith, Vice President Pam Clark, Treasurer
Warren Huse, Assistant Treasurer
Securing the Future
Laconia, New Hampshire, has a rich history that is worth protecting and sharing with future generations. Thanks to Laconia’s public-spirited citizens who have donated historic artifacts, LHMS maintains a collection of approximately 2,000 historic objects, over 150 linear feet of manuscript and photographic collections, and 350 bound volumes. The long-term care and preservation of this collection is at the heart of the Society. Equally significant to the mission of LHMS is providing access to collections and the history the city.
Listed below are the opportunities to become a member and/or contribute to a specific fund.
Become a member or update your current membership here. Membership rates start at $25 and extend up to $250.
Giving Opportunities
Contributing to any of the following will help the Laconia Historical and Museum Society provide the public access to local history. Click here to donate online or send a check to Laconia Historical & Museum Society, PO Box 1126, Laconia, NH 03247
LHMS realized its most significant long-range goal with the purchase of a former Laconia Car Company shop building to serve as the permanent home for its collections. While the collection is now housed in a climate-controlled environment, ongoing maintenance and repairs require funding. Providing for these costs will allow the Society to concentrate on the business of history by providing programs for all ages, exhibitions, and improved access to collections.
The funds also provides for the care and conservation of artifacts entrusted to the Laconia Historical and Museum Society. Typical collections care needs include archival supplies, UV filters for collections storage windows, and environmental monitoring devices.
Become part of a lasting legacy through estate planning
Planning for your own future and that of your heirs, and for the future of the Laconia Historical and Museum Society are part of charitable estate planning. Just as LHMS preserves Laconia’s past for the benefit of future generations, YOU can help both your own and the society’s future well-being through planned giving.
When you remember the Laconia Historical and Museum Society through planned giving, you can save on gift and estate taxes, income and capital gains taxes.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, LHMS depends upon the goodwill of members and friends to help sustain its programs.
Private philanthropy has brought us this far — and we have accomplished much in the 35 years since Winnie Hackett, Gilbert Center, George Bingham, Stan Kidder, Gwen and Rolland Gove and others restored and reinvigorated the Laconia Historical Society in 1981, along with Bob Dearborn and the group who founded the Laconia Museum Society, as well as through the days during which Julie Upham, Esther Peters, Paul Normandin and others oversaw the merger of the two groups into today’s LHMS.
And, for the past 12 years, we have continued to expand our programs and contributions to the field, under the direction of several executive directors and in partnership with the Laconia Public Library. We have also acquired a historic building in which to store, conserve and safeguard our constantly-increasing collections.
Your support allows our programs and services to continue to be available to researchers and to the public. In addition to your annual membership dues, contributions in support of specific programs and contributions to the annual fund, please consider remembering LHMS in your estate planning when you consult with your attorney or financial advisor. Through planned giving, you can help LHMS continue to serve its mission of saving, preserving and sharing the rich history of Laconia, Lakeport and The Weirs.