Strawbery Banke is an

outdoor history museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

located in the South End

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from ce ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

. It is the oldest neighborhood in New Hampshire to be settled by Europeans, and the earliest neighborhood remaining in the present-day city of Portsmouth. It features more than 37 restored buildings built between the 17th and 19th centuries in the

Colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

, Georgian, and Federal style

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

s. The buildings once clustered around a waterway known as Puddle Dock, which was filled in around 1900. Today the former waterway appears as a large open space.

History

The neighborhood's history goes back to 1630, when Captain Walter Neale chose the area to build a settlement, naming it after the wild berries growing along the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River ( Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the ri ...

. Strawbery Banke existed as a neighborhood for a little over three centuries from 1630 to the late 1950s. The neighborhood's buildings were saved from 1950s

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of bligh ...

by the efforts of a large group of historic preservationists. Strawbery Banke opened as a museum in 1965.

Education

Seventeen historic houses are open to the public as furnished historic interiors. Guests learn from staff interpreters the history and lifestyles of each house and how it reflects the social changes of its time period. In some houses, costumed roleplayers portray characters from time periods past. In others, historical interpreters educate visitors about the history. There are also five formal exhibits on archaeology, architecture, woodworking tools and skills, post-and-beam construction, and amusements and entertainment. Hearth cooking, weaving, basket weaving, and

coopering A cooper is a person trained to make wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs and other similar containers from timber staves that were usually heated or steamed to make them pliable. Journeymen coopers also traditionally made ...

demonstrations and tours are offered during a daily program season. Seasonal events are also held around major holidays. Across the street from the museum are the riverside gardens and entertainments of Prescott Park. Strawbery Banke was featured in

Bob Vila Robert Joseph Vila (born June 20, 1946) is an American home improvement television show host known for ''This Old House'' (1979–1989), ''Bob Vila's Home Again'' (1990–2005), and ''Bob Vila'' (2005–2007). Early life and education Vila, a C ...

A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, dramas, and educational e ...

production, ''Guide to Historic Homes of America.''

Photo gallery

File:Bailey House Strawbery Banke.JPG, The Bailey House File:Strawbery Banke.jpg, A cooper at work File:StrawberyBankeEntrance.jpg, Strawbery Banke entrance File:Lwod House.jpg, Lowd House File:AldrichGarden.jpg, Aldrich Garden File:Parlor, Thomas Bailey Aldrich Memorial, Portsmouth, N. H (NYPL b12647398-73994).tiff, The Parlor,

Thomas Bailey Aldrich Thomas Bailey Aldrich (; November 11, 1836 – March 19, 1907) was an American writer, poet, critic, and editor. He is notable for his long editorship of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', during which he published writers including Charles W. Chesnutt. ...

Memorial File:GENERAL VIEW, FRONT AND LEFT SIDE - Reuben Shapley House, 420 Court Street, Portsmouth, Rockingham County, NH HABS NH,8-PORT,134-1.tif, The Reuben Shapley House at 420 Court Street

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Historic house museums in New Hampshire Museums in Portsmouth, New Hampshire Open-air museums in New Hampshire Living museums in New Hampshire Historic districts in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Houses in Portsmouth, New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Portsmouth, New Hampshire