Portsmouth Historical Society

Gingerbread Workshop
2025-12-20 10:30 - 11:30 (America/New_York) | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Be inspired by the gingerbread contest and make your own gingerbread house!

Register for the Gingerbread House Workshop!

Explore the Gingerbread Contest

Museum Closed- Christmas Day
2025-12-25 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Portsmouth Historical Society Closed 12/25
The historical society will be closed on Thursday, December 25 in observation of Christmas Day. We will reopen the next day, Friday, December 26 at 10 a.m with more delicious holiday fun at the 35th Annual Gingerbread Contest and Exhibition.

Learn More About Gingerbread

Holiday Hours: 10 am – 4 pm
2025-12-26 - 2025-12-30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States

Homeschool Day: the Portsmouth Peace Treaty
2026-01-02 10:00 - 11:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Learn about the special connection between Portsmouth and Japan, all based on the peace treaty signed here that ended the Russo-Japanese War.

Register for the Homeschool History Program!

Gingerbread Smash
2026-01-03 13:00 - 15:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Register for our Gingerbread Smash!

Can we smash more houses than last year?

Thank you to EnviroVantage for assistance in providing safety equipment and tools for our smash and Mr.Fox for composting the sugar remnants.

Homeschool Day: The Women of Portsmouth During WWII
2026-02-06 10:00 - 11:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Celebrate the Women of Portsmouth who stepped up and took on new roles during World War II.

Register for the Homeschool History Program!

PHSA Life & Death Symposium: America 250th
2026-02-14 10:00 - 15:00 | Masonic Temple, 45 Miller Ave, Portsmouth, NH, United States

Benefit Night: Community Oven Hampton
2026-03-02 16:00 - 21:00 | NH
Who knew that pizza night was the perfect way to keep history alive!

Plan your order for March 2

Monday, March 2, 2026
Join us for a delicious way to support the Portsmouth Historical Society! From 4:00 to 9:00 pm, The Community Oven in Hampton will generously donate 20% of all dine-in and take-out sales to help fund our exhibitions, education programs, and preservation initiatives.

UNABLE TO ATTEND? You can still keep Portsmouth’s history alive. Consider a donation to support Portsmouth Historical Society’s mission to connect the community to our past, present and future through collections, interpretation, education, and preservation.

Keep History Alive!

Homeschool Day: Reinventing Portsmouth
2026-03-06 10:00 - 11:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
So much happened in Portsmouth in the 1960s and 1970s. Learn about how the phyical city changed and the citizens who came together to create community.

Register for the Homeschool History Program!

How to Research Your Historic Property
2026-03-21 14:00 - 16:00 | Portsmouth Public Library, 175 Parrot Ave, Portsmouth, NH, 03801, United States
Get started on your historic plaque journey

RSVP to the Portsmouth Plaques Program Library Event

Portsmouth Historic Plaque Program
Learn more about the program and sign up to start your plaque research.

Learn more about our program partner and see their full list of events:

"Betty & Barney" Preview Party Member Event
2026-03-26 17:30 - 19:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
A special night to celebrate our members

RSVP to the Preview Party

Not yet a member? Join anytime!
Join today to be among the first to see our 2026 exhibition and get access to numerous other member benefits, including free admission, discounted tickets, 10% off the gift shop year-round, and more.

Become a Member

Women's History Month Walking Tour
2026-03-28 14:00 - 15:30, 2026-03-29 14:00 - 15:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Women of Portsmouth Walking Tour
Learn the untold stories of navigators, preachers, artists, authors, tavern keepers, and madams who defied stereotypes and shaped Portsmouth on this 90 minutes tour.

Join the Women's History Month Walking Tour

Tour Description:
For over 400 years women have been shaping the course of Portsmouth’s history. After the 90-minute walking tour, we hope you will walk away surprised by all the ways that women have impacted the fabric of this city. Your tour will cover almost two miles including Prescott Park and the Old Harbor.

Walking Tour Rates:
Tours are $15 for members, $20 for non-members, $15 for discounted groups (Children 5-18, Seniors 62+, Students, Portsmouth Residents), and free for children 5 and under.All tours depart from Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth NH.Online reservations close 30 minutes prior to tour departure. Please call (603) 436-8433 for last minute bookings.

2026 Young Artists Contest
2026-04-01 - 2026-05-31 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
We invite our young visitors to explore their creativity with our 3rd annual Young Artists Contest!

We invite our young visitors to explore their creativity with our third annual Young Artists Contest! Starting April 1st, come visit 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. Take that inspiration, create your own piece of writing or visual art, and submit it to our contest to be eligible for a prize, which includes a gift certificate from Nahcotta!

Enter the contest!

Preview the exhibition from home

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.

What kind of art can I submit?
Writing: Short stories, poems, plays/dialogue, newspaper articles, essays, imagined interviews, and more are all potential options! Writing submissions have a max word count of 2,000. Visual Art: Any medium can be submitted, including (but not limited to) paint, colored pencils, charcoal, pastels, photography, collage, etc. Visual art will need to be photographed to be submitted. Please make sure your artwork is well lit and against a plain background. Have another idea? Reach out to sarah@portsmouthhistory.org with any questions!

How do I submit my art?
You can fill out our submission form online, or print out a paper form and drop it off or mail it to the Historical Society. Entries should be mailed to: Portsmouth Historical Society Sarah Robbitts-Terry 10 Middle Street Portsmouth, NH 03801 We can’t wait to see your work!

Is there a limit to number of submissions?
Each artist may submit up to three pieces of art, but each piece must be submitted with a separate form.

Enter the Young Artist's Contest!

Thank you to our prize sponsors:

Opening Day
2026-04-01 10:00 - 17:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Join us for our 2026 exhibitions!
Reopening on Wednesday, April 1.

While the Hills rose to fame due to their tale of alien abduction and subsequent influence on pop culture, the Hills’ impact reaches far beyond the extraordinary events of that night. As Portsmouth residents, civil rights activists, and community leaders, Betty and Barney Hill were part of a powerful and often overlooked chapter in local and national history.

We are proud to announce we our continued collaboration with NHAA and artists across New Hampshire.

Homeschool Days: Preserving Our Stories
2026-04-03 10:00 - 11:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
How have historians preserved the past and how will our stories be preserved in the future? Join us and become a preservationist-in-training!

Register for the Homeschool History Program!

"Betty & Barney" Curator Tour
2026-04-03 12:00 - 12:30, 2026-04-03 17:30 - 18:00, 2026-05-01 12:00 - 12:30, 2026-05-01 17:30 - 18:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Take a Guided Tour Around “Betty & Barney”
Join Meredith Affleck, our Exhibitions Manager and X-Files fan, as she guides you through the “Betty & Barney” exhibition. This exhibition will cover the reported UFO abduction, leaving you to draw your own conclusions, and showcase Betty and Barney’s active role within the Portsmouth community. Learn how broad of an impact their experience had on pop culture and the way we think of aliens.
Finish your tour with a visit to the complementary, contemporary exhibition upstairs featuring a juried selection of NHAA artists.
Tours happen at 12:00 and 5:30 pm.This is a free tour, no registration required.

Learn more about the exhibition

Art Round Town
2026-04-03 17:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-01 17:00 - 20:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
We’ll be open until 8 p.m. every First Friday for Art ‘Round Town!
Free admission all day long.
Visit our most recent exhibition, “Betty & Barney” and view highlights from our permanent collection in our “Past & Present” exhibition.

Learn More About the Exhibition

Don’t forget about our free curator tours!

Curator Tour "Revolutionary Portsmouth"June 5, 2026 12:00 pm Curator Tour “Revolutionary Portsmouth”June 5, 2026 5:30 pm "Betty & Barney" Curator TourJuly 3, 2026 12:00 pm "Betty & Barney" Curator TourJuly 3, 2026 5:30 pm Curator Tour “Revolutionary Portsmouth”August 7, 2026 12:00 pm "Betty & Barney" Curator TourSeptember 4, 2026 12:00 pm

Family Day: Artifact Investigation
2026-04-11 10:30 - 11:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Get hands-on with historic artifacts

RSVP to our Family Day

Thank you to our Family Day sponsor for making this free, family-friendly event possible:

“Contemporary Currents” Judges’ Award Ceremony
2026-04-24 17:30 - 19:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
“Contemporary Currents” Awards Ceremony
Friday, April 24, 5:30–7 pm
Join Portsmouth Historical Society and the New Hampshire Art Association for the Awards Ceremony for Contemporary Currents on Friday, April 24, from 5:30–7 PM. his dynamic exhibition includes 41 works by New Hampshire artists inspired by the story of Betty and Barney Hill. Drawing on themes of alienation, the unknown, and the courage it takes to be believed, these works explore what it means to stand apart from the ordinary.
Enjoy an evening of art, conversation, and community. All works are available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting local artists, Portsmouth Historical Society, and the New Hampshire Art Association. Judges’ Awards will be announced at 6:15 pm, and all attendees can vote for their favorite artwork in People’s Choice.
This event is free and open to the public.

Learn more about "Contemporary Currents"

Browse and Buy Artwork

See what’s happening at the NHAA:

Thank you to our award sponsors

Historic Portsmouth Walking Tours (May-Oct)
2026-05-01 - 2026-06-30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Historic Portsmouth
Daily at 10:30 amSaturday and the 2nd and 4th Friday at 2:30 pmThis daily 90-minute walking tour covers the streets, stories, buildings, and architecture of historic downtown Portsmouth.

Book your walking tour!

Tour Description:
Learn why Portsmouth is the hub of the New Hampshire Seacoast! Our downtown is filled with hidden treasures. Our knowledgeable walking tour guides will introduce you to the city’s rich past and lively present—a unique mix of architecture, specialty shops, and bustling streets nestled in a village-like setting. This 90-minute guided walking tour is sure to bring the history of Portsmouth alive!

Walking Tour Rates:
Tours are $15 for members, $20 for non-members, $15 for discounted groups (Children 5-18, Seniors 62+, Students, Portsmouth Residents), and free for children 5 and under.All tours depart from Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth NH.Online reservations close 30 minutes prior to tour departure. Please call (603) 436-8433 for last minute bookings.Upgrade your ticket for just $5 to also visit our galleries and John Paul Jones House.

Loyalist to Liberty Walking Tour
2026-05-01 14:30 - 16:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
From Loyalist to Liberty
Semi-Monthly at 2:30 pm
First and third Fridays of the month
This 90-minute walking tour traces the path of Portsmouth during the 1770s. From a hub of British loyalty, a series of events in the 1770s fanned the flames of independence and turned Portsmouth into a hotbed of Patriotism.

Book your walking tour!
Tour Description:
Learn about British settlement of the Seacoast and the economic prosperity that made Portsmouth the capital city of the royal colony and then see how the events of the 1770s changed public opinion to that of revolution. During your 90-minute walk, you will visit sites that are related to the American Revolution including: North Church and State House Plaque, Queen’s Chapel, Liberty Pole, Pitt Tavern, and more.
Walking Tour Rates:
Tours are $15 for members, $20 for non-members, $15 for discounted groups (Children 5-18, Seniors 62+, Students, Portsmouth Residents), and free for children 5 and under.
All tours depart from Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth NH.
Online reservations close 30 minutes prior to tour departure. Please call (603) 436-8433 for last minute bookings.
Upgrade your ticket for just $5 to also visit our galleries and John Paul Jones House.

Children's Day: Young Artist Contest Workshop
2026-05-03 12:00 - 15:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
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

John Paul Jones House Free Visit Day
2026-05-05 08:00 - 17:00 | NH

Spring Auction
2026-05-07 17:30 - 19:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
You’re Invited!
This signature event offers you the opportunity to engage with hands-on history while directly supporting the students and families who benefit from our work. From our third-grade history program, where we visit every Portsmouth public school classroom each month at no cost, to homeschool days, lectures, free Family Days, and other public programs serving learners of all ages, your participation ensures these meaningful experiences remain accessible and impactful.

RSVP to the Preview Party & Silent Auction

Select Auction Items Preview:

TWO Salt Box Lavender Farm 2026 Season PassesIncludes admission to workshops, live music, and more!

Portsmouth EscapeWeeknight stay at the Davenport Inn and $100 gift card to Cure Restaurant

Let’s Play Ball!Two premium tickets to the Red Sox on June 16 and a gift card for Row 34 (has a Kenmore Square location!)

Gardener’s DelightTwo tickets to Art in Bloom and the Pocket Garden Tours. Gift cards to Perch & Petal, Wild Valentine, and Nooney Farm

The Pearl of PortsmouthA beautiful pair of 14-carat gold pearl earrings from Summerwind

Prescott Park Arts FestivalFamily Season Pass, tickets for four and other bonuses

Wood Island ExperiencePrivate day-trip with gift cards for the perfect picnic

Portsmouth StaycationStay at Hotel Thaxter and a fully paid dinner at Moxy (with a $50 bar tab)

Portsmouth Light TourPrivate tour for up to eight at this landmark that is not open to the public

Become a Member Today!

Learn About the Exhibition
