Interesting Museums to Explore by Motorcycle

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

If you are in the Lakes Region for Bike Week and perhaps new to the area, you might want to know about some great and unusual places to visit during your stay.

Did you know there is a castle high atop a mountain, open to visitors to tour? Or a museum focusing on life during World War II? How about a museum in a beautiful brick mill that interprets, right down to the huge water wheels, how people worked in days gone by? Perhaps you would choose to visit a peaceful place where a religious group lived and worshipped for many years?

These are but a few of the wonderful museums and attractions in the area you can visit while here for Bike Week (or anytime during the season).

Starting with the historic Belknap Mill on Beacon Street East in downtown Laconia, you can tour the first floor of the 1823 former mill building. You will learn about when and why the mill was built, how it served as a textile business, what machinery was used, and a lot more.

According to information at www.belknapmill.org, the 1823 mill began operation by 1828, and replaced a wooden mill owned by Caniel Avery and earlier, by Stephen Perley. Investors who operated mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, replaced the original building with an industrial structure that was modern in its day. Lowell was a major place for big mills in those days, and the Belknap Mill copied a mill built in 1813 in Waltham, Massachusetts. The Waltham Mill was first in America to complete the whole textile manufacturing process, from raw cotton to finished cloth, in one place. 

The Belknap Mill was constructed of brick in a post-and-beam style. Wooden columns support the open floor plan, and exposed joists (horizontal beams) support the floors and ceilings. Multiple windows and the “double roof” provided natural light before the days of electricity. A waterwheel originally powered machines for weaving cloth, and it is the gigantic wheel in the Wheelhouse of the Belknap Mill that will amaze visitors today.

The historic Belknap Mill is the only remaining example of such a structure. While other such mills have been destroyed or altered over time, the exterior of the Belknap Mill remains unchanged. The bell in the tower was cast by George Holbrook, an apprentice to Paul Revere. 

The Mill has a knitting machine exhibit, a Powerhouse exhibit, and the building itself is well worth stopping by for a tour. Added to this, there is a first-floor gallery with changing art exhibits. On select Friday evenings at 6 pm, Rotary Park, next door to the Mill, has free outdoor concerts. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating.

For information on open hours of the Belknap Mill, call 603-534-8813 or visit www.belknapmill.org.

If you are in the area for Bike Week, a stop at the Northeast Motor Sports Museum at 922 N. Route 106 in Loudon (near the New Hampshire Motor Speedway), has a lot to offer visitors. The museum is a gem and has exhibits of helmets, engines, vintage racing attire, trophies, and cars. It also has memorabilia from the days of racing – both car and motorcycle – gone by.

A fundraiser for the museum will take place on June 12 when the AMA sanctioned Gypsy Tour starts at Laconia’s Motorcycle Week Rally Headquarters on Lakeshore Avenue in Weirs Beach. Sign-ups for the Gypsy Tour start at 9 am and leave the Weirs at about 10:30 am on June 12. The tour is a police-escorted ride from Rally Headquarters in Laconia to the museum/Speedway. 

For information about this fun museum, visit www.nemsmuseum.com or call 603-783-0183 for hours and admission prices.

A castle on a mountaintop with unsurpassed views? A place built by a rags-to-riches early 1900s entrepreneur. Hiking trails and a meal in a café with patio dining? All this and more are available to the public at Castle in the Clouds on Rt. 171/455 Old Mountain Road in Moultonborough.

Enjoy a ride from Weirs Beach on Rt. 3 to Meredith and on to Rt. 25 to the Castle. Once up the mountain road, you will find plenty of parking and a short walk to the Carriage House where you can see the yearly exhibit interpreting life at the Castle during the original owner, Thomas Plant’s, day. Purchase tickets to tour the Castle and take a trolley up, up, up the road to the mansion.

Once at the Castle, tour the interior of the beautiful estate, where Thomas lived year round with his wife, Olive. The home was quite inventive for its day, with household devices installed to make the servants’ lives easier and more productive. The exterior of the estate, with incredible views, is one you will not easily forget.

The grounds are extensive, and you can hike on trails and have a meal at the Carriage House Restaurant or grab lunch at the handy Café in the Clouds building for a light lunch and for course, ice cream.

The Castle is open Thursdays through Mondays from 10 am to 4 pm. For information and a schedule of events, visit www.castleintheclouds.org or call 603-476-5900.

There is no doubt World War II will remain in the memories of many people and the stories of that harrowing time have been passed down through the generations. To see the stories told through artifacts, old photos and stories, plan to visit The Wright Museum of World War II at 77 Center St. in Wolfeboro.

The Wright Museum is unique and unforgettable. The collection is extensive, and cover the years from 1939 to 1945, when the war began and raged, right up until the end of the conflict. With over 14,000 items in the collection from both the home front and the battlefield, visitors get to see how people from all walks of life – movie stars, average families and of course, the soldiers fighting for our freedom, lived during those years. There also are fully operational military vehicles, and the size and scope of the vehicles bring to life how the battles were fought.

This year’s special exhibits include Saturday Evening Post Covers from 1941-1946: The Art of Mead Schaeffer, Norman Rockwell, and Friends. The exhibit runs through June 22. 

Next up is the exhibit Let Me By Myself: The Life Story of Anne Frank. The show runs from July 1 to October 31. If you plan to be in the area beyond Bike Week, and here on July 1 or thereabout, visit the life-sized pictures of Anne’s world during the war.

Along with exhibits, visitors can take in lectures, special events, and more. There is plenty of parking at the museum, and after a tour, plan to have lunch or dinner in Wolfeboro. There are many restaurants, some with lakefront views. Visit www.wrightmuseum.org or call 603-569-1212. The museum is open daily during the summer and fall.

Do you like boating and a variety of boats from the early days to the present time? While in Wolfeboro, stop by the New Hampshire Boat Museum at 399 Center Street for a step back in time when boats were wooden, finely crafted and a pleasure to see and ride in comfort. 

The museum began in 1992 when a group of antique boat lovers wanted to preserve and share the heritage of boating on the state’s waterways. In 2000 the museum found a home and it is a place for displaying exhibits and offering boating workshops each summer season.

You will like the exhibit space, which is in a big barrel-round roofed structure once part of the Allen A Resort. When you visit, you will walk into a huge exhibit space with beautiful antique wooden boats, old photos, and boat replicas on display. You also will get in on programs and workshops, and you can book a ride on the museum’s Millie B, which is located and offers rides at the Wolfeboro Town Docks. The 28-ft. mahogany, triple cockpit “woodie” is a replica 1928 Hacker-Craft, accurate down to the seat colors. Riding in the Millie B, you will experience the golden age of boating, when such boats ruled freshwater lakes.

Visit the museum at www.nhbm.org or call 603-569-4554.

If you want to spend a few hours, or an entire day doing something completely different, visit Canterbury Shaker Village at 288 Shaker Road in Canterbury. You will feel the peace and quiet the moment you walk onto the grounds of this special place. The community was started in 1792, when the followers of leader Mother Ann Lee started the seventh Shaker gathering place. The religious group remained in existence for 200 years. When the last living Shaker sister, Ethel Hudson, passed away, it began operation as a museum (in 1992). 

As you tour the grounds and see the beautiful buildings, you will be amazed at the breadth and scope of the peaceful village, where at one time an astounding 300 people lived and worked. There were many buildings and about 3,000 acres at the Canterbury Shaker community, all dedicated to living peacefully and following a religious system of beliefs. It was their generosity to “the world’s people” as they called outsiders, that set the Shakers apart. Not to mention their fine craftsmanship of everything they made, from Shaker baskets to woodworking and the construction of their buildings.

You can tour the village, learn how the Shakers lived, shop in the Village Store, and feel the peace and quiet of the special place. There also are guided tours from Tuesdays through Sundays; visit www.shakers.org for information or call 603-783-9511.