Local History Resources

Lakes Region History Online

Experience Laconia's history through photographs and artifacts.

Laconia Annual Reports – the University of New Hampshire Digital Repository

Laconia's annual reports dating 1877-1967 are digitized as part of the University of New Hampshire's digital collection and are available online.

The Black Heritage Trail

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire’s mission is to “promote awareness and appreciation of African American history and life in order to build more inclusive communities today”. 

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire also hosts a searchable database of people African and Black American individuals and families: http://blacknewengland.org/ 

New Hampshire State Archives 

The New Hampshire State Archives contains records of vital statistics, town histories and reports, name change records, naturalization records, land title deeds, probate records, and more.

New Hampshire Historical Society

The New Hampshire Historical Society has digitized and on-site records and archives that can be used to conduct genealogical and historical research.  

New Hampshire History Network

New Hampshire History Network is a voluntary group of organizations in New Hampshire that offer digital and on-site access to local history and genealogy records for research purposes.  

Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that provides free online access to publicly crowd-sourced resources for research including archived internet websites, cultural artifacts, books, and other digitized items. Many town reports and vital statistics are available and have been digitized to be text searchable within the document.  

New Hampshire Preservation Alliance

New Hampshire Preservation Alliance’s blog has great tips for how to begin the process of researching your old house. They are also a wealth of information and resources if you are interested in learning more about preserving and maintaining the character of your old house.

New Hampshire State Archives

The New Hampshire State Archives has several digitized collections of maps, surveyor records, and information on roads and highway layouts from the late 1700s to the 1900s.

D. H. Hurd & Co. Maps

Cadastral maps of Laconia and other parts of New Hampshire are available online through the David Rumsey Map Collection.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Sanborn Fire Insurance maps of New Hampshire Towns are available online through the Dartmouth College Library. These maps were created to assess risks for insurance companies and date from 1880-1920. Laconia Public Library also houses several books of these maps in the Library’s Local History Room.

Library of Congress digitized maps of Belknap County

The Library of Congress has a wealth of digitized maps, including the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps and other collections of cadastral maps of Belknap County.

Belknap County Registry of Deeds

Researching your old house? Deed research is available online through the indices of the Belknap County Registry of Deeds.

Additional Resources

Laconia Public Library
Local History Room
695 Main St.
Laconia, NH 03246
(603) 524-4775

Laconia Historical and Museum Society
 P.O. Box 1126
 Laconia, NH 03247
 (603) 527-1278

New Hampshire Historical Society
 30 Park Street
 Concord, NH 03301
 (603) 228-6688

New Hampshire State Library
 20 Park Street
 Concord, NH 03301
 (603) 271-2144

New Hampshire Vital Records
 71 South Fruit Street
 Concord, NH 03301
 (603) 271-4650

How-To Brochures