08/09/2026
Thank you Domestic Goddess 603!
That tiny “EST. 1890” at the bottom of the Ames Farm Inn sign is doing a ridiculous amount of historical heavy lifting, because the story behind this property actually reaches back more than a century before the inn itself existed. I snapped this while traveling the Alton/Gilford stretch of Lake Winnipesaukee, and one little geographical correction is worth making: although it is very close to Alton and absolutely feels like part of that Route 11 lake drive, Ames Farm Inn is technically in Gilford at 2800 Lake Shore Road. The Ames family’s connection to this land dates all the way back to 1777, when members of the family settled and farmed here. More than a hundred years later, in 1890, James Noah Ames purchased the property from his grandfather, who had been one of Gilford’s pioneer settlers, and Ames Farm Inn began welcoming travelers. What I find especially fascinating is that the property was once a stop along the Boston & Maine Railroad, and those first vacationers weren’t arriving for fancy lakefront suites, they were actually staying in tents. That little detail gives you such a good picture of early Lakes Region tourism, when people were already escaping the cities to spend their summers beside Winnipesaukee, just with significantly fewer amenities and probably considerably more adventurous bathroom arrangements. 😂
As the number of visitors grew, the farm evolved with them. The buildings known as the “Annex” were constructed around 1900, and the lakeside cottages that became such a recognizable part of the property were added in 1958. Today, Ames Farm Inn still stretches across about 135 acres, including roughly a quarter-mile of sandy Lake Winnipesaukee shoreline, and the property continues to offer cottages, rooms, apartments, docks and plenty of open space. Even more impressive to me is that it remains operated by the fourth and fifth generations of the Ames family. In a Lakes Region where waterfront property has changed dramatically over the decades, seeing that kind of continuity is pretty remarkable. And this isn’t simply a historic place surviving on nostalgia. In 2025, Ames Farm Inn was named Boutique Lodging Property of the Year by the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association, recognizing a family hospitality tradition that has now lasted more than 130 years. There are newer resorts around Winnipesaukee with every modern bell and whistle imaginable, but there is something pretty damn special about a place where generations of the same family have watched generations of other families come back to the same shoreline every summer.
I love to photograph old signs when I’m wandering around New Hampshire. At first glance it is a pretty white farmhouse, a beautiful old tree and a sign beside Route 11. Then you start digging and suddenly you’re standing beside a piece of Lakes Region tourism history that began with a farm, a railroad stop and guests sleeping in tents more than 130 years ago. That is a whole lot of New Hampshire history hiding behind one very unassuming driveway. ❤️
