Delivering mail on Lake Winnipesaukee has generated some wonderful stories and traditions. Island residents come from near and far to stay during the summer and some islands are able to receive mail. The Motor Vessel (M/V) Sophie C. is the oldest floating post office in the United States. It picks up mail (and passengers) twice a day at Weirs Beach during the summer.
At the Bear Island stop there is a post office on a dock at the very start of Lover’s Lane on the Northwestern tip of the island. There are over 200 residents and two YMCA camps on the island so each day many people walk over to the post office dock to visit. Quite a few of the island residents have had mail boxes at the postal dock for generations. As a floating post office you can buy a postcard, have it stamped with the official “Sophie C” U.S. postmark and mail it.
Residents gather here, trading stories and kids wait for the mail boat to pull away to partake in the tradition of climbing up onto the dock pilings and jumping into the lake to the delight of Sophie C. patrons.
