The John Paul Jones Historic House Museum opened to the public in 1920, and to celebrate (only slightly belatedly) its centennial, we’ve put on a display of the incredibly wide variety of objects the Portsmouth Historical Society collects. A “birdcage” Windsor rocking chair, portraits of local “clothier” Benjamin Cheever and his wife Mary, an 1813 map of Portsmouth’s “compact” downtown region, a circular maple table that once belonged to an enslaved woman, a baseball bat from a losing game in 1866, a 1660 embroidered mirror, a top hat, miniature paintings, a purloined sword, memorabilia of ale-maker Frank Jones, and “Uncle Billy’s Sunday Leg,” worn (for Sunday best only) by William Dunn after he lost his leg in the war of 1812.
Admission to the John Paul Jones house is FREE for members, and is included in the $7.50 admissions fee to Portsmouth Historical Society.
Open 7 days, 11am to 5pm.
First Free Friday is July 2!
Stop by Friday, July 2, and admission is free! Plus, for Art ‘Round Town between 5pm and 8pm that evening, we will be hosting the totally cool Retro Roadtripper, Josh Hrehovcik, who will be on hand to talk about his photography, his road trips, and to help us sell raffle tickets for the wonderful photos you see here! Can’t make it? Get your raffle tickets online!
Volunteer Hours Opportunity!
Do you know a teenager who needs to round out their volunteering requirements? Are they outgoing, friendly, and interested in history and art? We’ve got lots of opportunities for shifts of a few hours on any day of the week, and would love to get teens interested in what we do. Fill out this quick form on our website, or email our volunteer coordinator Jessica Kliskey for more information!
Save the Date!
We’re celebrating the father of the American Navy on July 11! Join us 43 Middle Street in the lovely gardens surrounding the John Paul Jones Historic House Museum. More details to follow!
Bring Dad for a screening of the 1959 classic film John Paul Jones to kick off Father’s Day weekend!
6:00pm tonight
Discover Portsmouth Welcome Center
FREE for all!
Today is Member Appreciation Day!
Today is double-discount day in the shop for members! Get your Historical Society swag and show your support!
Fathers Free on Sunday
Sunday is Father’s Day!
Bring Dad with you on Suday and he gets FREE admission to our galleries at the Discover Portsmouth Welcome Center and the John Paul Jones House!
Third Grade Program a Success!
Every year we host a bevy of 3rd graders on a field trip to historical sites in Portsmouth as a finale to our Education Department’s year-long history program in local classrooms. Despite the challenge of being entirely outdoors this year, our program was a great success! Many thanks to everyone who worked hard to give these kids a fun day!
NH Gave!
Thank you to the donors, sponsors, and partners of the NH Gives event, especially the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation for organizing! Nearly $4 million was raised by over 14,000 donors for 584 different non-profits in the state of New Hampshire!
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of Portsmouth Historical Society’s Membership Month raffle. Everyone who joined or renewed in the month of May was entered into a drawing for a private historical walking tour for up to eight people. Those who did so as monthly sustaining members, or at a higher membership level than before, were entered into an additional drawing for a $100 Gift Certificate to our amazing museum shop.
Congratulations to Gerald Beauregard of Stratham, NH for winning the private historical walking tour.
And an additional congratulations to Elisabeth Russell and Albert Hontoog of Portsmouth, NH for winning the Gift Certificate to our Portsmouth Historical Society museum shop.
Movie with Dad!
Father’s Day is right around the corner! Join us for a special FREE screening of the 1959 film John Paul Jones! Starring Robert Stack, Marisa Pavan, Bette Davis, Charles Coburn, and Peter Cushing, this star-studded swashbuckling adventure is the perfect activity to launch Father’s Day weekend.
Friday, June 18th at 6pm Discover Portsmouth Welcome Center, 10 Middle Street
Members Get Double-Discount on June 18
We’d like to say thank you to all our members! Get double your usual discount in the Museum Shop on Friday, June 18! We’ve got some great gifts for Father’s Day in stock!
We are open and free to the public on the first Friday of the month, June 4!
Plus, we’re open until 8pm for Art ‘Round Town! Artist Lennie Mullaney will be on hand to talk about her work!
Much of her work is done “en plein aire”. She is an observational artist who responds to the environment around her. “Painterly” in style, she strives to simplify that which is observed to shape, color and value.
A Brighter Day, oil on canvas, 2021
“Working Waterfronts” Lecture June 17 “Artistic Encounters Over the Last Thirty Years”
Don Gorvett on the front page of the Portsmouth Herald, March 24, 1991, pictured here working on a preparatory sketch for his amazing Wentworth by the Sea print.
Join us for an evening lecture with printmaker Don Gorvett as he shares tales of life working as an artist on the Seacoast and shows us the process of creating a reduction woodcut. “Working Waterfronts,” currently on display at the Portsmouth Historical Society, is the first ever retrospective on Gorvett’s work, offers a great opportunity to see the evolution of one artist’s work, and explores the dynamic medium of the reduction woodcut.
DON’T FORGET! Join us on June 8th and 9th for NH Gives! NH Gives―an initiative of the NH Center for Nonprofits―is a powerful, statewide, 24-hour, online fundraising event that is designed to build community, connect donors to local nonprofits, and generate excitement about the nonprofit sector.
GET YOUR GIFT MATCHED! New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is providing 10 chances to you to have your gift doubled! See all the details here!
June is Pride Month!
Support the LGBTQ+ community by learning more about its history in Portsmouth! We’ve got a fantastic walking tour coming up on Sunday, June 13th at 2:30 pm, “Gay Old Times: Tales of Portsmouth’s LGBTQ+ Community.” Only a few spots left, so reserve your tickets today!
Nothing Like a Picnic to Kick off the Holiday Weekend!
“Historical” photo, dating way back to May 27, 2021, by Ken Goldman, kenphotogeek.com
Thank You, Volunteers!
Yesterday was the perfect weather for our Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. Several of our dedicated volunteers and walking tour guides attended a lovely outdoor lunch where we all got to meet one another and enjoy some friendly conversation. Ken Goldman, our favorite “photo geek” kindly took some pictures, including the historical-society-appropriate photo you see above.
We count on our volunteers for so much―greeting the public, guiding tours, landscaping, maintenance, fundraising, publicity, record-keeping, lending their knowledge and skills on any and all subjects―so a few sandwiches on a sunny afternoon was the least we could do.
Join us on June 8th and 9th for NH Gives! NH Gives―an initiative of the NH Center for Nonprofits―is a powerful, statewide 24-hour, online fundraising event that is designed to build community, connect donors to local nonprofits, and generate excitement about the nonprofit sector.
Mark you calendars and stay tuned next week for more info!
NH Heritage Museum Trail
On sale starting June 1! For just $25, you can get your New Hampshire Museum Heritage Trail passport! Valued at over $150, each passports grants admission for one adult to 18 different institutions across the state. We may not yet be able to travel far and wide, but you don’t have to leave New Hampshire to find fun and interesting places to visit!
Can’t fit a walking tour into your schedule? Have a special group coming to town, and you want to give them the authentic Portsmouth experience? Book a private walking tour! We’ll work with you to find a tour guide for the date and time you need! Any of our standard or specialty tours can be booked. Just contact Walking Tour Manager Robin Lurie-Meyerkopf!
