Roche Realty Group, with offices in Meredith and Laconia, recently sold the Lakeland School property located on Meredith Center Road and Route 104 in Meredith. The property included 5.27 acres, the building contains 13,000+/- sf and features views overlooking Lake Wicwas. George Hurt of Roche Realty Group represented the Seller in this transaction.
Formerly known as The Wicwas Lodge, this Historic Post and Beam masterpiece, once a summer retreat for many in the New England area, was the vision of a local landowner. In the early 1900’s Joseph F. Smith Sr. built the Wicwas Lake House overlooking the lake as a home for his family and a rooming house for travelers. In 1935 this three-story Victorian structure was destroyed by fire. Shortly thereafter, Smith made the decision to dismantle an old barn he owned in New Hampton as a placement for the Lake House.
Each Beam and each Post was carefully marked, the barn was painstakingly disassembled, and “the structure was moved across Lake Wicwas to the present site” where it was operated as the Wicwas Lodge for many years.
In 1992, a partnership of three local school teachers acquired the property, and The Lakeland School, a private preschool, elementary and middle school was formed. In their work to convert the Lodge to classrooms, a great deal of effort was made to preserve Mr. Smith’s hard work and his vision for this Historic presence for Meredith.
