John Coe was born in Durham, New Hampshire on November 3, 1797. He was one of eight children whose genealogy dates back to England in the sixteenth century. He was educated in the common schools of the town and worked for his brother in a country store. About 1819, John Coe moved to Center Harbor and purchased his own store in town where he bought, sold, and bartered for articles in common use at that time.

Mr. Coe was united in marriage with Lavinia T. Senter, the pretty daughter of Samuel and Lettice Senter, owners of the Senter House Hotel overlooking Center Harbor Bay. As was the custom of the day, the institution of marriage was "cried in church" by the uncle of the bride, he being Town Clerk at the time. The next step was building their home, and the site selected was the one with the most extended view of the surrounding mountains and the "Great Pond" (Lake Winnipesaukee) as it was called by the early settlers.

 

Nichols Memorial Library
James E. Nichols was born in Center Harbor in 1854, and at age 18, he went to Boston, and working first at Jordan Marsh and then at a food outfitter which became known at Austen Nichols and Co. He was made General Manager after Austen's death. Austen Nichols became world famous when they supplied polar and other exploration expeditions for Horace Greeley and Teddy Roosevelt.

In 1907, Nichols learned that the Library Association in Center Harbor was making plans to build a library on the site of the old Senter House. He offered to finance the building and its furnishings if it could be "a living memorial" to his parents, Jane and Robert Nichols, who had farmed here for 30 years. The offer was accepted, and Nichols paid for the land, building, furniture, fixtures and established a fund to keep the Library self supporting.

Charles Brigham of Boston is the architect, and the building's base is granite. The corners are limestone, and the rest is white sandstone. The corner stone was laid in 1090, and it contains a box of old library records, the most recent Town Report, and papers of the Woman's Club.

The new building was dedicated June 18, 1910. The two fireplaces with their handsome tiles and mantles are original. The pine tree tiles in the Children's room are dated 1905 and designed by architect Adios Bootlegger. To date we have no information about the nursery rhyme tiles which are unique.