Invest In Yourself: Things To Do In Portsmouth NH

Portsmouth, New Hampshire is a popular summer attraction, built on its firm setting in American history. Settled between upstream markets and industries, Portsmouth (first named Strawberry Banke) capitalized on its location by becoming a port city. To showcase the lives of these early settlers, the Strawberry Banke Museum was founded on a 10-acre piece of land in historic downtown Portsmouth. With over 700,000 artifacts recovered at the site, the museum's ongoing archaeological research is also on display. The Strawberry Banke Museum's location in a continuously occupied neighborhood makes it unique among other open outdoor museums. The site hosts ongoing exhibits, history tours through the buildings and gardens, as well as role-playing storytellers who educate visitors on the crafts of the city's earliest settlers.

As debatably the first battle site of the American Revolution, Portsmouth holds an attraction for most history buffs interested in the era. The city's port was planned to be seized with British troops to reinforce Portsmouth's Fort William and Mary, but Paul Revere rode to the city from Boston and warned them of the enemy's plans. A group of some 400 colonists raided the fort, attacked the royal militia and made off with valuable supplies and ammunition—used against the British at the Battle of Bunker Hill. This attack took place four months before the battle at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.

The raid was led by people of all kinds, including local merchant and shipbuilder John Langdon. John Langdon might be better known for his signing of the United States Constitution, establishing him as a Founding Father. Tourists can visit the John Langdon House, a modern-day museum established to preserve the noted politician's Georgian mansion he had built in Portsmouth.

Georgian architecture, in addition to Colonial and Federal styles, is another attraction for tourists. Architecture was a main outlet for the wealth that Portsmouth citizens made from the profitable port industries. Downtown Portsmouth, on the other hand, is composed of largely brick stores and townhouses in the Federalist style, built to better withstand destruction from fire in the nineteenth century.

Tourists can also visit the Wentworth-Gardner House (1760), the Moffatt-Ladd House (1763) and the Tobias Lear House (1740), all Georgian style mansions which are open to the public. The latter was the home of Tobias Lear IV, a shipbuilder who oversaw the construction of John Paul Jones' ship The Ranger, and his son, secretary to George Washington, whom visited the house in 1789.

There is actually a John Paul Jones House located in Portsmouth. The house was constructed by the master housewright Wentworth Cheswell at the request of sea captain Gregory Purcell in 1758. It was named in honor of John Paul Jones when the legendary naval hero boarded at the house in 1781. The “Father of the American Navy" lived at the mansion for a year while supervising the construction of his ship, The Ranger, being built on nearby Badger's Island in Kittery, Maine. The only remaining structure dedicated to Jones, the mansion received National Historic Landmark status and now operates as a museum.

The venerated Captain Isaac Hull also stayed in Portsmouth during 1813. Hull had been the commander of the USS Constitution in 1812, when it landed a serious blow against the British navy and earned the nickname "Old Ironsides." Hull was in Portsmouth for protection of the shipyard while the largest warship in the American navy was being built. The ship, christened the USS Washington, ultimately had 74 cannons but was not completed until 1814. The scope of the USS Washington had only been attempted once before with John Paul Jones' 74-gun America. Like Jones' The Ranger, the ship America was built on Badger's Island and like the USS Washington, it faced difficulties in its construction. One final stop for maritime history fans should be the USS Albacore—a decommissioned navy submarine—Museum and Park.

Portsmouth also has options for art and theater enthusiasts. Known around Portsmouth for being the oldest operating theater in New England, the Music Hall is a 900-seat theater built in 1878. The theater was recently restored by a non-profit organization and regularly features musical acts, dances, and theatrical productions. Another non-profit effort is the New Hampshire Theatre Project, founded in 1986 to produce works of all varieties and both classical and contemporary presentations feature prominently. Both The Pontine Theatre and The Player's Ring Theater focus on presenting new original works from regional artists. Theaters near Portsmouth provide a touch of Hollywood to the old New England town.

Both old and new, Portsmouth offers a great destination for summer tourists.

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