Over 170 years ago, along the shoreline of Center Harbor Bay, just off Lake Street near the MS Mount Washington’s winter dock, a bronze plaque now quietly commemorates a groundbreaking moment in American sports history. It marks the site of the first intercollegiate athletic event in the United States — a rowing race between Harvard and Yale that unfolded on August 3, 1852.
That summer day, thousands gathered in this small lakeside town to witness what would become the origin of one of the most storied rivalries in college athletics. The prize? A pair of black walnut oars, inlaid with silver. These trophy oars were awarded to Harvard by none other than presidential nominee Franklin Pierce, who presented them after the Crimson team crossed the finish line first on New Hampshire’s largest lake.
The 1852 event, which included two Yale eights and a four and one Harvard eight was the only race to take place at Winnipesaukee,” says Weil of that first race. Interestingly, approximately one third of the rowers who participated in the historic regatta went on to become officers in the Civil War.
The story of how the race came to be is as remarkable as the event itself. As the tale goes, Yale oarsman James Whitson happened to be aboard a train passing Lake Winnipesaukee when he floated the idea of a race to a railroad agent named James Elkins. Elkins, seeing an opportunity to draw tourists to the region, offered to cover all expenses if the schools agreed to race on the lake. With that offer, America’s first intercollegiate sports contest — and the famous Harvard-Yale rivalry — was born.
Today, the newly placed marker in Center Harbor helps preserve the memory of that historic day. It reminds passersby that the roots of competitive college athletics trace back not to a stadium or a gymnasium, but to our peaceful New Hampshire lake — where ambition, ingenuity, and a little help from the railroads launched a tradition that still thrives nearly two centuries later.
Center Harbor Photo Credit - WolfReel Visuals