Portsmouth Historical Society

Daily Walking Tours (May–October)
2025-08-01 - 2025-08-31, 2025-09-01 - 2025-10-31 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Daily Walking Tours
Walking Through 400 Years of History
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
2025-08-01 14:30 - 16:00, 2025-08-15 14:30 - 16:00, 2025-09-05 14:30 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | 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.

Art Round Town
2025-08-01 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, “Cabot Lyford: Winds of Change” and view highlights from our permanent collection in our “Past & Present” exhibition.
In addition to being open until 8 pm, our August ART will feature live music performed by Julia Lane, artist Cabot Lyford’s daughter, at 12pm and 5:30pm!
Julia Lyford Lane, daughter of sculptor Cabot Lyford, is an award-winning player of the Celtic Harp. She has performed with her husband, Fred Gosbee, as the duo Castlebay for 30 years throughout the Eastern US, British Isles, Ireland, and Scotland. In addition to his musical expertise, Gosbee is a skilled luthier, having designed and built Celtic harps, guitars, and lutes. Several years ago, Cabot Lyford gifted the couple with a carved female figurehead to be placed on the pillar of one of Gosbee’s harps. Lyford passed away in 2016 before Fred could design and build a harp big enough to accommodate the sculpture. This past spring, coinciding with what would have been Cabot’s 100th birthday, the harp was completed and, after settling into its final form, is ready to be played in honor of the sculptor.

Join Julia for a short presentation at both noon and 5:30pm about the instrument and then listen as she brings it to life playing music as people enjoy a spectrum of art from Cabot’s extraordinary career.

Add the 12:00 pm curator tour to your calendar

Don’t forget about our free curator tours!

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

Yoga on the Lawn
2025-08-07 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-08-14 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-08-21 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-08-28 12:00 - 13:00 | John Paul Jones House, 43 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 03801, United States
Register for Yoge on the Lawn!

Meet the Instructors:

Chetana Parmar

Chetana knows what it means to feel you belong and feel connected to where you call hOMe. A dedicated yoga practice grounds and brings her hOMe and is a ritual that forms her daily life. She truly believes in yoga being accessible to all, being open and inclusive to every body and every one and coming to your yoga mat should never be a barrier. Her practices are always guided by intuition and she adapts for those that sheI is leading. She also writes her own meditations and is available on the Insight Timer app.
She is an Advanced registered yoga teacher E-RYT500, through Yoga Alliance and continue to learn and grow in my teaching and practice. She lead practices and workshops in power, flow, restorative, yin, meditation, The Power of She (menopause and yoga), yoga nidra as well as sound baths with crystal and Tibetan bowls healing and offer Reiki throughout.

Follow

Michelle Gonzales Verdi

Michelle’s yoga journey began as a child in military base housing alongside her mom during a yoga broadcast on PBS. Realizing her need to move, Michelle’s parents enrolled her in dance at a young age, which sparked her love of movement. She studied ballet, tap, and jazz for more than twenty years. Upon entering the corporate world, sheneeded something to burn off stress. One day during a long run after work, she remembered standing in the living room lifting her arms next to her mom doing yoga. Eventually, her practice led her to Ashtanga Yoga with Kimberly Dahlmann at Yoga East, where she deepened her personal understanding of yoga and began teaching.
Michelle is trained in and teaches Ashtanga, Yin, Pranayama, and Pilates. Additionally, she studies Yoga Philosophy, Iyengar Yoga, and meditation. Michelle teaches yoga at Yoga East in Kittery, Maine, and is a teacher and volunteer at Yoga in
Action throughout the Seacoast.

Twilight Tour
2025-08-08 16:00 - 20:00 | John Paul Jones House, 43 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 03801, United States

Family Day: Whale Tales
2025-08-09 11:00 - 12:00 | John Paul Jones House, 43 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 03801, United States
Splash into fun with our August Family Day!
Please register in advance so we can make sure we have enough materials for our hands-on activities.

RSVP to Whale Tales

Thank you to our event partner:

Thank you to our event sponsor:

"Cabot’s Menagerie" Exhibition Tour
2025-08-10 13:00 - 14:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
“Cabot’s Menagerie” Exhibition Tour
Sunday, August 10, 1–2 pm
Join Thaddeus Lyford as he leads a special tour through Winds of Change, highlighting the role animals played in his father’s artwork. From whales and mermaids to chickens and seabirds, Cabot Lyford’s creatures—both mythical and local—reflect his deep connection to the Seacoast landscape and his love of literature, nature, and the ocean. Through stone, watercolor, and mixed media, these works reveal how Lyford used animal forms to celebrate beauty, spark humor, and deliver powerful messages about environmental stewardship.
Free with admission.

Learn more about the exhibition

Women of Portsmouth Walking Tour
2025-08-13 14:30 - 16:00, 2025-09-10 14:30 - 16:00 | 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.

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.

LGBTQ+ Walking Tour
2025-08-17 14:30 - 16:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
“Gay” Old Times: Stories of Portsmouth’s LGBTQ+ Community
Additional Pride Month walking tour begins at 10:00 am
Ends in time to attend the Portsmouth Pride Parade
Learn about the hidden history of LGBT clubs, organizations, and people who impacted the Seacoast of NH on this 90-minute walking tour.

Tour Description:
Tour guide Tom Kaufhold will take you through Portsmouth for this engaging 90-minute tour. You will pass by many beautiful historic sites and learn some important facts about Portsmouth LGBTQ+ people, places and events, including:

How UNH and the NH Supreme Court impacted Portsmouth’s LGBTQ+ community
Where the first gay and women’s bars were in Portsmouth
The restaurant credited with starting Portsmouth’s restaurant renaissance
The church that supported two LGBTQ+ organizations for decades.

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.

Chance Poetry: Workshop Pt. 1
2025-08-19 18:00 - 20:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Experiment with the written word in our two-part poetry workshop this August!

Register for the poetry workshop

About the Workshop Leader:

Sarah Robbitts-Terry
Our very own Outreach Director, Sarah Robbitts-Terry will lead this poetry workshop. She received her undergraduate degree in creative writing from Columbia University and her masters of fine arts in poetry from the University of New Hampshire, and has previously published poetry in Strange Horizons, Star*Line, RHINO Poetry, and NonBinary Review, among others.

Example poetry:

Along the Waterfront Walking Tour
2025-08-20 14:30 - 16:30, 2025-08-27 14:30 - 16:30, 2025-09-17 14:30 - 16:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Along the Waterfront
Twice a Month at 2:30 pm
Third and fourth Wednesdays of the month
Stretch your legs on our longest walking tour! This two-hour tour includes Prescott Park, the working waterfront, the tugboats, a bit of beer history and more. Born and bred Portsmouth local, Ron Sher, adds personal anecdotes and depth to this extended tour.

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.

Book Signing: EM Ippolito The Tears of Other People
2025-08-25 17:30 - 19:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Join us for a book signing with author E.M. Ippolito.
Get a chance to hear from and speak with the author of The Tears of Other People.
Books will be available for sale in the gift shop. Admission is free, no RSVP required.

About the Author:
Evie (E. M. Ippolito) was raised a settler on unceded Abenaki-Pennacook land in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She is a trans writer of fiction and nonfiction living in Brooklyn, Lenapehoking, where she pursues a degree in library information science.

About the Book:
The Tears of Other People is an attempt by author E. M. Ippolito to make sense of her alienation from her hometown of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Both local history and personal memoir, the book explores the history of discriminatory programs on the New Hampshire seacoast, from gentrification to European colonization, charting personal and political connections across decades of urban change. Dispossession has an infamous history on the beautiful Portsmouth waterfront, where in the 1960s a colonial museum called Strawbery Banke displaced the working-class neighborhood of Puddle Dock.

Chance Poetry: Workshop Pt. 2
2025-08-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States

"Winds of Change:” Lyford’s Art and Legacy
2025-09-02 17:30 - 19:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Hear more about how Cabot Lyford left a lasting legacy on a younger generation of artists.

Register for the Public Art Lecture

Portsmouth Peace Treaty Bell Ringing
2025-09-05 15:47 - 16:00 | John Paul Jones House, 43 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 03801, United States
Join us below the cherry tree at the John Paul Jones House to celebrate the Portsmouth Peace Treaty!
This year is the 120th Anniversary of the signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty on September 5, 1905. The spirit of the Treaty, the statesmanship of the diplomats and President Roosevelt, and the citizen diplomacy of local people is a legacy that is perhaps more important than ever in these turbulent global times — and is echoed in the themes of the “Diplomats in Portsmouth” exhibit displayed at the John Paul Jones House.
By re-enacting the bellringing that occurred when the Treaty was signed on September 5, 1905, we echo the celebration all around the Seacoast that welcomed the news that the Russo-Japanese War was over and we commemorate the active role local citizens played in helping to achieve that peace. So the sounding of bells around the state at 3:47 pm on September 5th is the historical, and in many ways most meaningful celebration of Portsmouth Peace Treaty Day, an official statewide observance since unanimous legislation was passed in 2010.

Art Round Town
2025-09-05 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, “Cabot Lyford: Winds of Change” 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

"Winds of Change" Curator Tour
2025-09-05 17:30 - 18:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
A behind-the-scenes look at our current exhibition
Walk through “Winds of Change,” a retrospective of the work of Cabot Lyford (1925–2016), with Guest Curator Rachel Walls. Learn how Lyford’s experimental approach to different materials and his advocacy of environmental and political issues through his art can resonate with viewers as much now as it did in the 20th century.
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

Community Fundraiser at Otto
2025-09-08 11:00 - 22:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Come enjoy great pizza and make a difference in your community—one bite at a time!

View Otto's Menu

Monday, September 8, 2025
Join us for a delicious way to support the Portsmouth Historical Society! From 11:00 am to 10:00 pm, Otto’s Pizza in Portsmouth will generously donate 10% of all dine-in and take-out sales to help fund our exhibitions, education programs, and preservation initiatives. Make sure to call in or order on their website; sales from third-party apps do not count towards this fundraising event.

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!

Valerie Cunningham Marker Unveiling
2025-09-12 08:00 - 17:00 | Seacoast African American Cultural Center, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 03801, United States

Family Day: Sunprinting Workshop
2025-09-13 10:30 - 11:30 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Create your own sunprints using the power of the sun!

RSVP to Sunprinting

Important Notes:

Suggested objects will be smaller than 4×5″ and have some transparency or unique shape to them. Lace, jewelry, cut glass, textiles with some transparency, and small toys all work well.
This workshop is open to all ages, but please note that, while sunprinting fabric is generally safe to touch, little ones who might put hands in mouths would need to be closely monitored.
To help us purchase the correct amount of supplies, please use the “Participant” ticket if you’d like to create a sunprint, and the “Guardian” ticket if you’re bringing a child but don’t want to make your own print. All are more than welcome to participate – we just need an accurate count to make sure we have plenty of materials and space!

Thank you to our event sponsor:

Painting with Paper: A Collage Workshop
2025-09-14 13:00 - 16:00 | Portsmouth Historical Society at 10 Middle Street, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH, 01801, United States
Join us for this NHAA artist-led workshop!

Register for the Collage Workshop

Through the generous support of a grant from the NH State Council on the Arts, we are able to offer two tickets for this workshop at reduced cost. If cost would be a barrier to your participation, please reach out to Sarah Robbitts-Terry sarah@portsmouthhistory.org for more information.

Memory of a Dream by Ember Nevins.

About the Artist:

Ember is fascinated with textures, fragments, and modules, and her work seeks to explore the connections between nature and body. She views her work as an extension of her mind, spirit, and soul – fluctuating with the natural and organic patterns of life. Her process can be described by two actions: searching and building. She looks at her works in process as puzzles that don’t have defined pieces – images that come to life slowly through the amalgamation of fragments and displaced elements. It’s a meditative process, where she can allow herself to be guided by her materials and trust in the final result.

Ember currently lives in Dover, New Hampshire, and works at Kennedy Gallery and Custom Framing in Portsmouth as a full-time Picture Framer. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where she received her BFA in Fine Arts and BA in Women’s and Gender Studies in 2024. In her free time,
