Custom Car, Motorcycle, Watercraft Appraisals in Laconia, NH

Portland is the largest city in Maine, with a population of more than 68,400 people. It's also the capital city of the state, and serves as the seat of Cumberland County. The Greater Portland metropolitan area currently is home to more than 500,000 residents.

Since its founding in 1632 and its incorporation in 1786, Portland has experienced four devastating fires. This inspired the adoption of a city seal featuring a phoenix rising from the ashes, representing how the city has recovered each time and gone on to thrive. 

In the past, Portland's economy relied heavily on fishing, canneries, and manufacturing. Today, the city has a diversified economy that allows it to continue growing. The service sector and tourism now play major roles in the local economy. 

Different areas of the city offer residents and visitors plenty to do. The Old Port is known as a hotspot for nightlife, while also providing some of the best examples of 19th-century architecture to be found anywhere in the state. Fishing and commercial shipping continue to be major industries, with the Port of Portland serving as the second-largest tonnage seaport in New England.

Serving Laconia, NH

Facts about Laconia, NH

Laconia is a city in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 15,951 at the 2010 census, and an estimated 16,470 as of 2016. It is the county seat of Belknap County. Laconia, situated between Lake Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam Lake, includes the villages of Lakeport and Weirs Beach. Each June for nine days beginning on the Saturday of the weekend before Father's Day and ending on Father's Day, the city hosts Laconia Motorcycle Week, also more simply known as 'bike week', one of the country's largest rallies, and each winter, the Laconia World Championship Sled Dog Derby. The city is also the site of the state's annual Pumpkin Festival since 2015, having organized it after its former home of Keene rejected it due to riots in their neighborhoods in 2014. The city also includes one of the colleges of the Community College System of New Hampshire.

History

Beginning in 1765, lumber and grist mills were established on Mill Street, with taverns built soon thereafter on Parade Street. About 1822, the courthouse was built, which would become county seat at the creation of Belknap County in 1840. In 1823, the Belknap Mill was built to manufacture textiles; in operation by 1828, the structure is today a museum listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest unaltered brick textile mill in the country. Local industry produced lumber, textiles, shoes, hosiery, knitting machinery and needles. But the city's largest employer would be the Laconia Car Company, builder of rail, trolley and subway cars. Started in 1848, it lasted until the 1930s. The railroad entered town in 1849, carrying both freight and an increasing number of summer tourists to popular Weirs Beach.

In 1855, Laconia was incorporated as a town from land in Meredith Bridge, Lakeport, Weirs and part of Gilmanton. The name was probably derived from the old Laconia Company, formed by Captain John Mason and the Masonian Proprietors to sell parcels of land during the colonial era. The Great Fire of 1860 destroyed most of Main Street from Mill to Water streets, followed by the Great Lakeport Fire of 1903, a blaze so fierce that fire companies were brought by train from as far away as Dover. Laconia was incorporated as a city in 1893.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,411 people, 6,724 households, and 4,168 families residing in the city. The population density was 809.3 people per square mile. There were 8,554 housing units at an average density of 421.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 96.79% White, 0.55% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.99% of the population.

There were 6,724 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87.