Strawbery Banke is an outdoor history museum located in the South End

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

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. 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, 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 construction, constructi ...

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. In 1631, Humphrey Chadborn constructed the Great House, marking the first permanent English building in the neighborhood. Subsequent housing and an influx of English ships led the tidal inlet port at Strawbery Banke to be known for its mercantile success. As the settlement grew, the neighborhood now encompassed by the Strawbery Banke Museum was named Puddle Dock in reference to the merchants' wharves. Several wealthy Portsmouth merchants resided close to their wharves, further drawing esteem to the area. Strawbery Banke existed as a neighborhood for a little over three centuries from 1630 to the late 1950s. By the end of the 19th century, the Puddle Dock neighborhood had lost its former esteem. Much of the earlier industrial activity had since been abandoned and left in place. The neighborhood's buildings were saved from 1950s

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

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 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's A&E Network 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 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