Families and Camps

 

• Research for “Camps, Family, Place, and Experience at Squam Lake, New Hampshire” (Derek Brereton, 2023)
  Derek was a summer resident of Squam for many years. His dissertation thesis described the camps and environs of some of the oldest summer camps on the lake. The data is organized by family, one notebook per family. Detailed descriptions of the interior of each camp as well as photos are included. We also have a copy of his thesis which can be cross-referenced with the data. 

 

• The Hartshorne Family of High Haith (Joanna Dellenbaugh, 2023)
  Josie’s family, the Hartshorne’s, were among the first to purchase property on High Haith, an island on the southern side of Squam.  The family has been there for many generations. She has written illustrated books about her family in two volumes, Volume I: The Jungle and Volume II: The Little Jungle. The titles refer to the names of the properties.

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• C. C. Morris and Pinehurst (Thomas J Greytak, 2023)
  The lakeside camp at Pinehurst is deemed to be one of the oldest on Squam. The Camp as well as the surrounding farmlands were long the summer residence of Christopher C. Morris of Philadelphia. Upon his death, the extensive property was sold and subdivided, with the entire property retaining the name of Pinehurst. Tom Greytak has written a detailed history of Pinehurst, from past to present, with photographs. We have both a hard copy and a CD of his work.   
   

• Camp Rest-A-While and the Taylor Family (Charles ‘Chuck’ Taylor, 2022)
  The Taylor family built a residence on the Holderness side of Squam at the turn of the century. As the home was being built, and during the years that followed, an extensive family album was compiled which included photos, receipts, and insight into the family’s general living habits. Our copy is digitized.

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History

 

• Voices of Squam (Jane Beck, 2023)
  Jane Beck is a founding Director of the Squam Archives Center. She spent over ten years interviewing key personalities in the towns as well as summer residents, a project that culminated in ‘Voices of Squam,’ first an exhibit at SLA (2018) and then a book published by the Squam Archives Center in 2023. Her interviews and script have been donated to the SAC, and a sampling of her recorded interviews is integrated with our website.    

 

• Research Files from SQUAM (Rachel D Carley, 2022)
  Rachel was hired by the Board of the Squam Lakes Association in 1999 to write the definitive history of Squam to be published in conjunction with the SLA’s Bicentennial Celebration in 2004. Rachel spent three years researching all aspects of the history of the region, including interviews with a plethora of people within the five Squam towns as well as summer residents. The resultant book, ‘SQUAM’, is a comprehensive history covering people, events, social trends, conservation efforts, artists, poets and much more. Files are organized by topic in four archival boxes.  
  
  See also the Squam Lakes Association files noted below for images and proofs.

 

• History of Holderness (Barbara McCleary, 2023)
  Barbara has donated a hard-to-find copy of “Abbreviated History of Holderness: A Story of Squam Lake”. It is one of the earliest histories of Squam. 

 

• News clippings about Squam (Richard N Seery, 2022)
  Newspaper articles regarding Squam collected by William N. Seery, former President of SLA, from approximately 1980 to 1990.

 

• Lake Access Initiative (Granthia Preston, 2023)
  Fred Preston became the primary architect of Squam’s “Lake Access Initiative.” To provide boats with access to the lake, in keeping with the mandate by the State of New Hampshire, existing boat access sites were acquired from Squam Boats and the Crane family. A new boat ramp with ample parking for cars and boat trailers was also built.  Donations were received from many families so that this project could become a reality. The ramp is currently overseen by SLA.

 

• Various People and Events (Malcolm ‘Tink’ Taylor, 2023)
  Tink Taylor’s family has both Sandwich and Squam (Holderness) connections. His long-standing interest in the history of the region has led him to participate in many events, which he has documented via film, photos, and writings. He was one of the original members of the team assembled by Bradford Washburn, Executive Director of the Museum of Science in Boston, to ‘map’ Squam with photos and depth soundings. He has donated both film and photos of this historic one-of-a-kind project to the Archives. There are also films (8mm and 16mm) of key persons in Holderness and elsewhere, the historic and continuing annual ice harvesting at RDC, logging with horses, and much more.  

 

• Books RE Squam (John Thompson, 2023)
  A past President of SLA, John has donated three books of historic interest: Roots and Recollections: A Century of Rockywold-Deephaven Camps by Megan Thorn; Chocorua Island Chapel Association (the history); Asquam by Charles Platt (a rare history of Camp Asquam, one of the oldest summer camps on Squam where Camp Deerwood is now located).     

 

Individuals

 

• Interview with Alice Main c. 1976 (Morgan Mead, 2023)
  In 1976, Morgan Mead, then the Director of JSLA, interviewed Alice Main, a long-time resident of Shepard Hill and White Oak Pond. Alice, the daughter of Charles T. Main, played the organ for the summer church at St. Peter’s-on-the-Mount. The interview is transcribed on tape.

 

• Sprague Family Diary and Ozias Dodge Etchings (Daphne ‘Twig’ Mowatt, 2022)
  Twig is a descendant of the Metcalf family, early summer residents of the northeastern region of Squam. She has donated a diary written by the Sprague family in the early 1900s. The diary is beautifully illustrated. She has also donated original framed etchings by Sandwich resident Ozias Dodge.  

 

• Letters Written by Brad Washburn (Sara Richards, 2023)
  Sara’s father, George S. ‘Rip’ Richards, was a man well known to Squam residents. He volunteered his time to patrol the lake, especially at night. The family has donated two letters from Bradford Washburn, dated 1965, relating to the mapping of Dog Cove and trails on Red Hill. Additionally, there are newspapers articles dated 1961 and 1965 regarding the Holderness School boys’ participation in the lake mapping project under the direction of Bradford Washburn and George Richards.   

 

Organizations

 

• Files of the Squam Lakes Association (SLA, 2022)
  The bulk of these files represent a very detailed history of the founding of the Squam Lake Improvement Association from 1903 to 1960. Signed Minutes of Meetings, lists of members and board members, and bank ledgers are included, providing a complete history of the early days of one of the first, if not the first, such conservation organization in the country. Documentation after 1960 is not as complete, but it still provides insight into efforts to maintain the level of the lake, the quality of the water, elect directors, and maintain membership lists. Also included is the documentation for the founding of the Squam Lakes Conservation Society, which spun off from SLA. Publications include ‘A Little History of SLA’ by Catherine Hartshorne, and ‘SLA Fifty Years’ by Susan Bacon Keith. There is also documentation about the publication of SQUAM including photos of the Bicentennial Annual Meeting, images compiled to produce the book, and proofs. 

 

Summer Camps

 

• JSLA Summer Camp, SLA (Barbara Beal, 2022) 
  Barbara’s husband, Tom Beal, was the long-standing Director of the JSLA Summer Camp program. Until the 1970s, the program included young adults ages 16 to 20. Tom’s files were stored in a series of notebooks. The information is hand-written and detailed. 
  
  See also Squam Lakes Association files for information about the summer camp program.

 

• Camp Chocorua, Chocorua Island (Robert G Twombly, 2021)
  The Twombly family has been on Squam since the late 1800’s. They are related to Ernest and Emily Balch, who founded the first boys’ camp in the US, Camp Chocorua, on what is now Chocorua Island in Holderness. Some of the original history of this camp survives. Twombly has donated an old wooden box containing the original Camp Chocorua scrapbook, with photographs of the campers and counsellors at work and at play. There is also a hand-written camp song in beautiful script and color.