Wed, July 12, 2023, 9am
Tour: Portsmouth Historical Society and Strawbery Banke
Tour Date: Wednesday, July 12th, 9:00 am – 2:30 pm (Calendar sign-ups: Open June 14, 8:30 am)
Earns Educational Hours
Hours will be reported for you
Part 1 Description: Celebrate Portsmouth’s 400th anniversary this year with the Portsmouth Historical Society! Our tour will begin with coffee, tea, and pastries, and then a guided visit through our two gallery exhibitions, “A Sense of Place,” and “Reinventing Portsmouth.” “A Sense of Place” is a companion exhibition to the 400th committee’s recent publication, A History of Portsmouth NH in 101 Objects. The show features many of the objects in the book and provides snapshots of the city through time, from its indigenous roots as the homeland of the Abenaki, through the English and European settlement, and into the present day. “Reinventing Portsmouth” turns its lens specifically to the city in the late 1960s and 70s as it grew and embraced both historic preservation and modern development. The tour will also include a visit to the John Paul Jones House, a National Historic Landmark. The house, originally constructed in 1758, contains the Historical Society’s permanent collection, which includes antique locally made furniture, maritime art and artifacts, samplers and textiles, English, European, and Asian ceramics, and more!
Part 2 Description: This is a walking tour of the Strawbery Banke Museum grounds. The Museum is a vibrant nearly 10-acre campus dedicated to bringing 300+ years of American history to life through dozens of historic buildings on their original foundations, heirloom gardens, hands-on traditional crafts, and engaging costumed roleplayers sharing the experiences of those who lived and worked in the waterfront neighborhood of Puddle Dock.
Eligibility: Must be an active GSA with 50 volunteer service hours
Anyone with less than 50 volunteer service hours may sign up after July 5th at 8:30 am.
How many GSAs can attend: 25
Uniform: GSA uniform. No purses or bags allowed on tour – leave them in your car trunk. You can bring a small cross-body purse, a waist pack, GSA cinch pack, or your new GSA neck wallet. Wear comfortable shoes.
Accessibility: Three locations – #1: Accessible ramp at rear entrance to building, accessible restrooms and elevator access in building.
#2: Walk across the street. The upper floor is only accessible via stairs. Strawbery Banke portion includes walking the grounds.
#3: The walking tour makes a variety of stops around the campus, but does not leave the grounds at
any point. The paths are dirt so they are not always the most even, but it is flat. The main loop is about a half kilometer of walking.
Food/water: Coffee, tea and pastries provided in the morning. Water provided in the afternoon. Bring a picnic lunch for lunchtime! There should be tables available with seating on the terrace.
Schedule:
Portsmouth Historical Society: 9:00 – 11:30 am
Picnic Lunch: 11:30 – 12:45 pm
Strawbery Banke Museum: 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Morning Meeting Location: Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH
Afternoon Meeting Location: Afternoon will be at Strawbery Banke Museum, 14 Hancock St., Portsmouth, NH. Patio of the Tyco Visitor’s Center
Morning Parking: Limited on-site parking. Nearby parking can be found in the Bridge Street Lot, the Worth Lot, or the Foundry Place Garage.
Afternoon Parking: Lot offered on-site for visitors
Tour Contact: Portsmouth Historical Society: Sarah Robbitts-Terry, sarah@portsmouthhistory.org
Strawbery Banke Museum: Laura Towne, ltowne@sbmuseum.org
Host Company: Portsmouth Historical Society and Strawbery Banke Museum
GSA Contact: Emily McMaster, emily@nhgsa.com
