Rattlesnake Island (New Hampshire)

A view of Rattlesnake Island from Mount Major

43°33′58″N 71°17′15″W / 43.56611°N 71.28750°W / 43.56611; -71.28750 Rattlesnake Island is a large island in Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. There are conflicting accounts of where it got its name, because its shape looks somewhat like a snake, but some say it is named for a rattlesnake population that lived there.[1][2]

The island is located within the town of Alton.

  1. ^ Gallup, Ronald W (1969). "Lake Winnipesaukee". Lake Winnipesaukee Historical Society. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  2. ^ "I can honestly say, however that the name came from the fact that there were 'rattlers' on the island. I can recall a Weirs Reunion Week exhibition of 'rattlers' caught on the island by experts. A few years ago it was possible to follow down the east shore of the island in a small boat on a bright, clear day, and see one or more snakes on the ledges in the sun. During lumbering operations on the island workmen have been bitten by them. On as least one occasion the island was burned over in an effort to exterminate them, once and for all. But the ledges that are their natural habitat were their natural protection against the fire, and, crawling deep into the rock clefts, they escaped the flames. I have not heard or seen any definite proof of the presence of snakes on the island in recent years." Quoted in Blaisdell, Paul (1975). Three Centuries on Winnipesaukee. Somersworth, N.H.: New Hampshire Publishing Company.