Portsmouth NH Archives - Portsmouth Historical Society

Museum Closed

by Portsmouth Historical Society | Jun 2, 2026

Exterior of Portsmouth Historical Society located at 10 Middle Street. A large brick building with an open flag.

The museum will be closed on Juneteenth

Below are some of the great events that other organizations have planned for city-wide Juneteenth celebrations.

Juneteenth Freedom Walk

Friday June 19, 2024 at 9:30am
FREECelebrate Juneteenth side-by-side with others of goodwill by walking from Kittery, Maine to the African Burying Ground in Portsmouth, New Hampshire! Meet at the John Paul Jones Memorial Park on the Kittery side of the Route 1 Memorial Bridge. Walkers will gather by 9:00 AM begin the 0.8 miles at 9:30 AM to the Burying Ground, located at 386 State Street, Portsmouth NH this years walk will be led by The Leftist Marching Band.This walk is hosted by The Seacoast African American Cultural Center, the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, BLM NH, Green Acre Baha’i Center of Learning, and Seacoast NAACP.

Wednesday, June 19 | 11:00 AM | African Drumming | African Burying Ground | FREE<br />
A TIME TO PRAISE, A TIME TO HONOR, A TIME TO HEAL

THE HEALING RHYTHM OF THE DRUMS

Friday, June 19, 11:00 AM
FREE

a sacred Juneteenth gathering honoring the lives and legacies of those excluded from America’s founding promises—Native Americans, Africans and African Americans, immigrants, Latinos, and other marginalized communities.

This cross-cultural commemorative event includes a Native American blessing, the reading of Portsmouth’s enslaved Africans’ names, and African drumming and dance. Together, we will remember, reflect, and celebrate resilience, culture, and community.

Presented by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire

See more related Juneteenth events!

Contemporary Currents-Betty & Barney

by Portsmouth Historical Society | May 27, 2026 | Exhibitions

April 1 —November 14, 2026

Portsmouth Historical Society is once again joining forces with New Hampshire Art Association in 2026. This exhibition will be a contemporary response to the themes addressed in “Betty & Barney.“

Originally incorporated in 1940, New Hampshire Art Association (NHAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit contemporary arts organization dedicated to presenting and supporting emerging regional art and artists in New England. In 1990, the NHAA opened its doors in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at 136 State Street. Thanks to philanthropists, lenders, and leadership who recognized the need for a community space to support the visual arts.

The call for art for “Contemporary Currents” will focus on art featuring close encounters, fear of the unknown, civil rights, or feeling “other.”

More than forty artists from across the Seacoast and the state of New Hampshire have work on display in the balcony gallery in an astonishing range of media, techniques, and topics. All the works are available for purchase to benefit the New Hampshire Art Association, Portsmouth Historical Society, and most of all, the artists!

View the Online Gallery

Judges’ Awards

As part of the jurying process, our three judges also chose three winners as well as three honorable mentions. The winners were awarded a monetary prize generously donated by the Puddle Dock Restaurant

Print - Betty and Barney's Great Adventure by Carolyn Vibbert

Carolyn Vibbert Betty and Barney's Great Adventure Digital print. 6×17 Framed work $250 Prints $125 Link to purchase 🌐 https://www.carolynvibbert.com/ IG logo

carolynvibbertillustration

This whimsical work depicts the journey of Betty & Barney through the mountains of New Hampshire on the night they said they met the aliens. Reminiscent stylistically of an early woodcut print, the bold black and white work highlights stops and other features along their travels, such as the diner in Colebrook and other landmarks. Graphically strong and done with a respectful sense of humor, this small work is an elegant and powerful evocation of the Hills’ “Great Adventure.”

This paper sculpture in the form of a woman’s coat is crafted from large-format prints of celestial images derived from NOIRLab (the US National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory). It is an homage to the artist’s Yakut Russian heritage, as well as (in her words) “a meditation on identity, belonging, and human presence within a vast and often unknowable universe.” The printed imagery suggests (again in her words) “humanity’s enduring impulse to look beyond itself in search of meaning, origin, and connection,” questions embodied in the work’s title and related to the Betty & Barney narrative.

🌐 www.artworcester.org IG logo

sheila.papetti

Sheila Papetti

Who am I? And why am I here?

paper coat crafted from large-format prints of NOIRLab celestial images.

51x33x24.inches

$2,500

Link to purchase

This small but powerful work shows us Betty & Barney in their ’57 Chevy Bel-Air driving through a mountainous, wooded landscape underneath a full moon and a distinctive constellation. This stellar configuration represents the star system described by Betty under hypnosis and later posited to be Zeta Reticuli. At center, a striking enigmatic passage shows a black vertical element that appears, perhaps, to be a tree trunk and roots, or, on the other hand, an alien claw reaching down to pluck the couple into the sky. As a whole, the work evokes the Hills’ experience in a poignant, beautiful manner.

Nancy Houlihan

Zeta Reticuli

Mixed media Acrylic monoprint with photo transfer

8×10 inches

$50

Link to purchase

nancyhoulihan_artist

Shawn Carlin

The Watcher

Mixed material diorama

8 x 8 x 8 inches

$3,000

Link to purchase

This small sculptural diorama of mixed materials expresses a dark sense of foreboding that perhaps echoes the experience asserted by Betty and Barney Hill as their alien encounter. The artist used special painting techniques to simulate the headlights and break lights on the meticulously crafted miniature car headed into a celestial abyss dominated by a giant eye in the sky. In all, the work allows the viewer to use their own imagination as a portal into the unknown, a fitting homage to the Betty & Barney experience.

🌐 www.artworcester.org IG logo

oakhill_studios FB logo

Shawn Carlin Miniatures

This delightful beach scene catches the tension between the images in the sky and the beachgoers in scene, some of whom are casually enjoying their tabloids while oblivious to the impending threats behind them. Filled with nostalgic elements (see the Coke bottles in the cooler) and permeated with a somewhat kitschy and camp atmosphere, this work captures the ambivalent place of alien encounters in American life, accepted by some, rejected by others, but somehow always lurking in the background. In a broader sense, the work also captures the American penchant for going about our everyday lives while ignoring dangers literally hovering in the background.

Brier Haigh

Beach Read

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 36 inches

$900

Link to purchase

Krysten Marche

The Interrupted Journey

Acrylic on canvas

24 x 36 x 1.5 inches

$2,000

Link to purchase

IG logo tennie_darling

An alien-like, greenish hue suffuses this haunting image of the interior of Betty & Barney’s 1957 Chevy Bel-Air. A close look at the rear-view mirror and side mirrors reveals reflections of stars, while several pairs of eyes, real or imagined, look out at the viewer in the form of dashboard knobs and dials, cup-holders (an anachronistic touch), and even two mysterious little white dots under the dash. The empty car interior suggests the temporary absence of Betty & Barney as their journey home was interrupted by their out-of-this world experience. Framed with thin strips of 1950s-style chrome, this painting stands on its own as an intriguing, enigmatic work of art while simultaneously encapsulating the themes of the “Betty & Barney” exhibition.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Young Artist Contest Reception

by Portsmouth Historical Society | May 12, 2026

Celebrate our Young Artists Contest winners!

Join us on June 9 at 5:30 pm to applaud the winners of our third annual Young Artists Contest! Starting They took inspiration and created their own piece of writing or visual art based on our two exhibitions, “Betty and Barney,” which tells the fascinating life stories of a New Hampshire couple who believed they were abducted by aliens, and “Contemporary Currents,” which features many local artists across different mediums, and find a piece that inspires you.

Submissions are broken down into the following age divisions:
Ages 7 – 10
Ages 11 – 14
Ages 15 – 18

A winner and an honorable mention will be chosen for each age division in the categories of writing and visual art. Winners and honorable mentions will have the opportunity for their work to be displayed at the Portsmouth Historical Society.

The contest will be open from April 1st through May 31st. There will be a reception for all entrants and their families at the Historical Society at 5:30pm on June 9, 2026.

Thank you to our prize sponsors:

John Paul Jones House Opening Day

by Portsmouth Historical Society | May 4, 2026

John Paul Jones House. Portsmouth, NH. Museum

We are thrilled to once again open the John Paul Jones House to visitors!

Visit highlights include:

items from the museum’s collection
the room John Paul Jones is said to have rented while in Portsmouth, NH during the American Revolution
“Revolutionary Portsmouth” exhibition
“An Uncommon Commitment to Peace: Portsmouth Peace Treaty 1905” exhibition by the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum

2026 Operating Hours:

Thursday-Monday, 10 am – 4 pm
Tuesday & Wednesday by appointment only

Plan Your Visit

Revolutionary Portsmouth

In the 1760s and 1770s, residents of the American colonies, including Portsmouth, were forced to make a serious choice between democracy or monarchy, between being a Patriot or a Loyalist. Despite the Patriot’s emphasis on asserting longstanding English liberties, what did the Revolution actually mean for local African Americans, Native Americans, or women? What was life on the homefront like? What did the town look like at this time, in terms of its architecture and material life?

Learn more about the exhibition

Children’s Day: Young Artist Contest Workshop

by Portsmouth Historical Society | Apr 27, 2026

Childrens Day 2026<br />
Sunday, May 3 activities at Portsmouth Historical Society 12-3:30pm

Get creative with this special Children’s Day craft

Join us this Children’s Day with free admission for children and young people ages 18 and under! While you’re visiting, come check out our crafting space and create an entry for our Young Artists Contest. Our contest is open for children ages 7-18 years old, and we have categories for both writing and visual arts. Entrants choose a piece from our exhibitions (“Betty and Barney,” “Contemporary Currents,” or “Past and Present”), and then use that piece as inspiration to create their own work of art. Winners and honorable mentions will receive prizes from Blick Art Materials and Nahcotta, and have the opportunity to have their pieces displayed at the Historical Society.

Learn more about the Young Artist's Contest

View more Children's Day Activities