History of Meredith
The future town of Meredith was granted in 1748 to 62 seacoast colonists by a group of wealthy landowners known as the Masonian Proprietors. The colonists called the prospective new town New Salem. The first settlers began establishing homestead farms in 1763, led by Colonel Ebenezer Smith and William Mead. In 1768 the settlement was incorporated as a town by the colonial Governor John Wentworth and the General Court. But they named it Meredith after Sir William Meredith, a member of the English Parliament, to curry favor with him.
Meredith was populated almost entirely by farmers during its early decades. A self-sufficient, barter economy slowly developed, built around extended families. Most of the early settlers were young men seeking to establish their own families and farms. They settled in clusters, intermarried, and gradually carved a prosperous settlement for themselves. From the beginning, the more industrious, led by Colonel Smith, began to utilize the rivers and streams to power saw mills and grist mills, two fundamental industries in every town.
The population grew fairly rapidly after the American Revolution in which numerous Meredith men, again led by Colonel Smith, acquitted themselves very well. From only 218 inhabitants in 1773, the town grew to 881 by 1790 and 1,609 by 1800. Most of the growth arose from high birth rates among the settler families. Population centers eventually sprang up around water power sources led by Meredith Bridge (now Laconia), Meredith Village, Meredith Center, and the village that is now Center Harbor. The emerging villages gradually attracted businessmen, tradesmen, and professionals like doctors and lawyers.
During the first four decades of the 19th century, prosperity was fairly widespread. It was fueled first by the so-called “sheep craze” which resulted from the geopolitics of the early 1800s. Demand for domestic wool made sheep raising the most profitable "crop" that the settlers had ever seen. Beginning around the same time, mill businesses were increasingly the beneficiaries of the numerous inventions that characterized the Industrial Revolution. The gradual automation of the textile industry became the dominant “big business” venture during this era. The arrival of the railroad in 1849 added to the attractiveness of the town and the viability of the mill industry well into the 20th century.
With a population peaking at more than 3,500 by the 1850s, the town of Meredith shrunk more than 40% in 1855 when Meredith Bridge broke off to form the town of Laconia. In 1874 it lost more of its initial land grant when the eastern portion corner abutting Lake Winnipesaukee was annexed to the town of Center Harbor.
The loss of these two centers of activity left Meredith Village as the primary focal point of life in Meredith. Of a total population of only 1,642 by 1890, more than 1,100 were living in the close environs of Meredith Village. The village mill yard was by far the largest employer. By this time, Meredith’s farming community had shriveled significantly after decades of demise due to the opening of the huge and very fertile West (Ohio especially) and the invention of the railroad which provided inexpensive access to the eastern population centers.
Bird's eye view of Meredith, c1905
Beginning in the 1880s, Meredith slowly began to attract more tourists and vacationers. This was the beginning of the vacation era, fueled by the industrialization of the Northeast and the United States. Mainland lake front properties were the main draw, benefitting immensely from the railroad connection. The entire process took giant leaps thereafter, especially with the invention of the automobile. Boys and girls summer camps sprang up around the lake and on the islands that were part of Meredith. The town’s economy became increasingly oriented toward service businesses, although the town continued to be home to small subsidiaries of large out-of-state businesses.
The first half of the 20th century was a challenging time nevertheless. Trials and tribulations accompanied the Great Depression in the 1930s and the rationing during World War II. Meredith was stagnant, and its major employers were just getting by.
The end of WWII marked the beginning of an entirely new era for Meredith, one that shows little sign of slowing up. Beginning in the 1950s and picking up steam in the immediate decades thereafter, national population growth, widespread prosperity among all classes, and the huge expansion of automobile ownership resulted in the town’s residential and seasonal populations growing rapidly. From 1950 to 1980, the year-round residential population more than doubled from 2,222 to 4,646. The seasonal population more than tripled from 2,000 to about 7,000.
During this era the nature of the town’s economy naturally shifted to meet demand. Service businesses proliferated. The village waterfront was opened up to both auto and boat traffic, and restaurants and gas stations dotted the shoreline.
Arising from the dramatic change in population trends, Meredith’s personality shifted in the early 1980s after the last of the big mill yard businesses finally closed for good. In its place visionary entrepreneurs developed the remarkable Mill Falls Marketplace. Not stopping there, they moved forward in the 1990s and early 2000s to create the world class hospitality structure that has made Meredith the nationally known resort town that we see today.
Meredith is now home to 6,662 year-round residents and an estimated 18,000 seasonal residents.
Written by John Hopper, Meredith Historical Society President
For more details regarding the history of Meredith, please visit the Meredith Historical Society.