Chapter History
The Winnipesaukee Chapter, NSDAR, was organized on January 17, 1923 and was named for New Hampshire's largest lake.
Lake Winnipesaukee, 20.8 miles long and 9.0 miles wide, features almost 288 miles of shoreline in Belknap and Carroll counties. The lake is home to 258 islands and is the third largest lake in New England.
The word Winnipesaukee comes from an Abenaki Indian term meaning lake around islands. The Abenaki spelling is Wiwninbesaki, which breaks out as wiwni meaning around; nbes meaning lake; and aki meaning land.
The Abenaki peoples are Native Americans who have been in northern New England since before recorded history. The name Abenaki originates from an Algonquin word meaning people of the dawn or easterners. Abenaki is generally applied to Algonquin-speaking people anywhere along the Atlantic coast. The Abenaki called themselves Alnanbal, meaning men, and their homeland Ndakinna, meaning our land.
Historically, the Abenaki were agricultural people, and usually settled on the floodplains of rivers. Abenaki Confederation tribes include the Amaseconti, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Maliseet, Ouarastegouiak, Passamaquoddy, Patsuiket, Penobscot, Pigwacket, Micmac, Pennacook, Rocameca, Sokoni, and Wewenoc. Today, most descendants of the original inhabitants of New Hampshire and the Lake Winnipesaukee area live in Odanak, Quebec, Canada.
