Adopt An Artifact

Adopt An Artifact

by | Jul 20, 2023 | Events

Two individuals looking at the detail on a pair of 19th century funerary gloves.
The “Adopt an Artifact” program was created to help raise funds to meet the critical needs of our historical collection. Portsmouth Historical Society has approximately 3,000 objects that it cares for, and many of our collection items need some repair in order to last 200, 300 years—and more, as we do our best to preserve them for future generations to learn from and enjoy.

That need for repair is exactly what led to establishing the “Adopt an Artifact” program. We invite you to be a part of preserving history by sponsoring the restoration and care of an artifact (or artifacts). All adoptions as a part of this program will go towards restoration and our mission of preserving the history of Portsmouth.

Thank you for Adopting an Artifact

Artifact adoptions are closed for 2023. They will reopen in July of 2024. Please look forward to hearing about our conservation efforts when we kick off the round of adoptions next summer. If you would like to donate to help our collections at any time of year, you can do so here or email us at development@portsmouthhistory.org.

A special thank you to the following individuals who have adopted an item from our collection:

  • Diane Fagan Affleck
  • Robin Albert
  • Ceal Anderson
  • in honor of Patricia Brunette
  • Sharon Churchill
  • Margaret L Clarke
  • in honor of Anna Herrera
  • Ellen Fineberg & Vincent Lombardi
  • Tom Kaufhold
  • in honor of Molly Liolios
  • Karen McDonnell
  • Ellen & Walt Patton
  • Gordon Stone
  • Tammi Truax
  • Elizabeth Valway

Artifacts from the 2023 Program

$50 Sponsorship Level

Baseball

Commode

Doll

Frank Jones Ale Poster

Funeral Gloves

Pitcher

Portrait of Sarah H March

Ruth Blay Quilt

Ribbon Banner

Slippers

Surveyor's Compass

Top Hat

$150 Sponsorship Level

Bodice

Child's Dress

Hair Wreath

John Paul Jones Bust

Pease Diorama

Portrait of Carrie Parker Gerrish

Portrait of Joseph Haven

Portrait of an Unknown Man

Toy Cradle

Tray

Worktable

$250 Sponsorship Level

Card Table

Chest of Drawers

Dressing Gown

Fire Bucket

Portrait of Samuel M Dockum

$500 Sponsorship Level

Looking Glass

Peace Treaty Armchair

Portrait of Alfred Beck

Portrait of George Boardman

Sculpture

Golden Vault outline to the left set over a transparent image of the gallery space with wooden balustrade.

How does the program work?

Artifact adoption, or “sponsorship”, lasts one year from the date of adoption. Please note that the adoption of an artifact does not mean you are purchasing the item, but rather sponsoring the artifact in support of the museum’s overall mission. As our interpretation of the mansion and property evolves, some artifacts may be removed from display at the end of a season.

All adoptions are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Adoptions go not only to the maintenance of a specific artifact but to support the museum mission as a whole. Portsmouth Historical Society is not limited to immediately conserving an artifact if funds are not raised in full.

For more information or to adopt an artifact over the phone please contact Development Manager, Kim Simmons.

Phone: 603.570.2492

email

Portsmouth Advocates

by | May 3, 2023 | Advocates

Formed in 1980, Portsmouth Advocates was established to “promote the maintenance of the historical and architectural integrity of the structures and cityscape of the City of Portsmouth within and outside of the historic districts of the City.

Contact Portsmouth Advocates

Historic preservation and sustainability

Check out these resources:

View the PDF

Annual Advocates Awards

The 2022 Portsmouth Advocates Award winners. From left to right: Roslyn Weems, Chair of Portsmouth Advocates; Nancy Carmer; Lawrence Yerdon; Bruce Blanchard; Christine Dwyer and Mike Huxtable; David Ryng; and Gerry Ward (accepting on behalf of the NH Bureau of Historic Sites for the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion).

2022 Advocates Award Winners

Restoring the Integrity of a Resource: State of New Hampshire Bureau of Historic Sites for restoration of the Billiard Room at the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion

Continued and Sensitive Maintenance of a Historic Property: Christine Dwyer and Michael Huxtable (homeowners) and David Ryng (contractor)

Arthur J. Gerrier Memorial Award, which is presented to an individual who is committed to serving our historic community: Bruce Blanchard (Preservation Manager- Piscataqua Region at Historic New England)

John Grossman Memorial Award, which recognizes an individual who makes a reality of an organization’s mission by bridging the theoretical and the practical: Lawrence Yerdon (President and CEO of Strawbery Banke Museum)

The inaugural Nancy Carmer Preservation Planning Award. The award celebrates individuals or groups who promote innovative, vibrant, and economically sustainable uses for historic properties and is presented to its namesake: Nancy Carmer (Former Economic Development Program Manager for the City of Portsmouth)

Portsmouth on Tap

by | Apr 26, 2023 | Events

Portsmouth on Tap. Burgundy background with a faded image of beer taps. A brewery series inspired by Portsmouth history.
We are thrilled to announce a new program series celebrating the history of Portsmouth, NH. We’ve partnered with six different breweries in Portsmouth to host beer and trivia nights. Each brewery is creating a limited-edition beer inspired by a particular figure or event in our history. The events will take place at the breweries with our staff hosting historic games and trivia.
There are no upcoming events at this time.
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Announcing our 2023 Exhibitions

Announcing our 2023 Exhibitions

by | Feb 16, 2023 | News

A painting featuring the Portsmouth waterfront with a metal, vertical-lift bridge behind warehouses located at shores edge. "A Sense of Place" is written on the image, denoting the name of the exhibition.

A Sense of Place

This companion exhibition to the recent publication “A History of Portsmouth NH in 101 Objects” encourages visitors to explore our shared past. From the Abenaki, who have inhabited the area for thousands of years, through European settlement, Portsmouth’s generations of families have defined the area in myriad ways.

We challenge visitors to think about the objects that will define “a sense of place” for Portsmouth over the next 400 years.

Learn more about "A Sense of Place"
Exhibition Title "Reinventing Portsmouth" written in a large sanserif font ontop of a recolorized photograph from the 1970s of many young adults standing outside of a brick house painted a darker blue with a sign next to it reading "Matthew Marsh House"

Reinventing Portsmouth

In the late 1960s and 1970s, the landscape of Portsmouth moved in new directions. A new generation with fresh ideas and entrepreneurial energy cultivated a vision that diverged from earlier approaches to the community’s growth and embraced both historic preservation and modern development.

This story is one that still rings true today—how a group of concerned citizens joined together through public and private partnerships to create community. This is a story of civic engagement and a call to action for all.

Learn more about "Reinventing Portsmouth"

Upcoming Programming

Workshop on 4/13 at 7pm Family, Memory, Place: Writing Family Stories for Our Community.
Lecture 5/18 Treasures from the Isles of Shoals: How New Archaeology is Changing Old history. Free to attend, preregistration is recommended. Background image is an isalnd with e white lgihthouse standing about five storeys on the left with a long ramp connecting it to a small keepers cottage on right.
Community Conversation 6/15 Does Truth Matter? Free to attend, preregistration is recommended. Information on a blue background with an image of the presenter Dr. Joshua Tepley at right.
Book Cover for "A History of Portsmouth in 101 Objects" featuring a close up of an ornate metal doorknob on a door with flaking red paint.

Shop the gift store

2023 is the 400th anniversary of European settlement in Portsmouth. Uncover stories of the region through the many books for sale in our gift shop.

Browse the Online Shop

History. Arts. Culture.

Reinventing Portsmouth

Reinventing Portsmouth

by | Feb 14, 2023 | Past Exhibitions

Exhibition Title "Reinventing Portsmouth" written in a large sanserif font ontop of a recolorized photograph from the 1970s of many young adults standing outside of a brick house painted a darker blue with a sign next to it reading "Matthew Marsh House"

April 7- October 9, 2023

Renewal to Renaissance: 1970s

Programs, Events, & Lectures

About the Exhibition

Programs, Events, & Lectures

Events are being added all the time! Please check back in for updates.

 

Exhibition Programs

Connect with Portsmouth and our local community through the collection or workshops, lectures, and community conversations we have planned this season.

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Exhibition Open Seven Days
10:00 AM–5:00 PM

In the late 1960s and 1970s, the landscape of Portsmouth moved in new directions. A new generation with fresh ideas and entrepreneurial energy cultivated a vision that diverged from earlier approaches to the community’s growth and embraced both historic preservation and modern development. Business owners, civil servants, and cultural leaders leveraged the accessibility of the Seacoast offered by I-95, the inheritance of historical architecture, and the availability of federal funds to create an environment that attracted restaurateurs, fine and performing arts, and turned Portsmouth into the destination it is today.

This story is one that still rings true today—how a group of concerned citizens joined together through public and private partnerships to create community. This is a story of civic engagement and a call to action for all.

Market Square Day, 1978.
Colorized reproduction from original photographic negative.
Image courtesy of Portsmouth Athenaeum.

Mary Jane Connor (1921-2010)
Grace Casey, ca.1975.
Oil on canvas. Private collection.

“Jubalay” poster
Produced for Theatre by the Sea
Ink on paper, 1977
Portsmouth Athenaeum, MS056, Box 3 F11

Omer T. Lassonde (1903–1980)
A Time to Celebrate
Oil on canvas, 1975
Collection of Robert S. Chase
Awarded Josie Prescott Bicentennial Award, Prescott Park Arts Festival, 1975.

View Upriverm six figures are seated with thier backs to the photographer. They look upriver at several large homes and a tall telephone tower.

J. D. Lincoln (1933–2022). View Upriver from River House Gallery. Silver gelatin print, 1970s. Grace Casey Collection.

Image of Buddy Haller, holding a ceramic bowl and stirring something with a wooden spoon. Buddy is wearing a button-up shirt with a floral patter. Buddy stands in front of a stovetop with shelving above it.

Portrait of Chef James “Buddy” Haller from the Blue Strawbery Cookbook.

Image of Buddy Haller, holding a ceramic bowl and stirring something with a wooden spoon. Buddy is wearing a button-up shirt with a floral patter. Buddy stands in front of a stovetop with shelving above it.

J. D. Lincoln (1933–2022). Actors of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Carousel” along the Prescott Park riverfront. Grace Casey Collection

Thank you to our generous sponsors

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Anonymous
Ed & Fran Mallon
McNabb Properties
Thoresen Werner Families Fund

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