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Portsmouth Aqueduct Company Piped Water through Logs

HISTORY MATTERS

A quick overview of the private company that, beginning in 1797, delivered water to New Hampshire's only seaport through an elaborate network of hollow logs. Remnants of the wooden pipes from the Portsmouth Aqueduct Company are still being unearthed to this day. (Click title to read more) 

Warner House Built 300 Years Ago

HISTORY MATTERS

An amazing survivor, the Warner House may be the finest example of an early brick urban home still standing. Although it was nearly razed in the 20th century to make way for a gas station, the Georgian mansion continues to tell tales of the rich and famous as NH's only seaport began its eco9nomic rise in the early 19th century. (continue to article)

Living with the Ghost of Ichabod Goodwin

HISTORY MATTERS

Harvey Bennett is cheating a little. He has been dutifully turning the spit over the roaring fire in the "keeping room" of his South Berwick home. The giant brick hearth is huge. Three or four people, stooped over, could huddle inside it-- but not now. The flames are licking up the blackened walls toward a fragrant joint of meat impaled on an iron rod. ( Read more)

Walking the Historic Streets of Portsmouth NH

HISTORY MATTERS

Last week the online version of National Geographic magazine posted the headline: “Is Portsmouth the USA’s Greatest Small Town?” Judging by the enthusiastic review, we might be.

The Science of the Historic Appledore Island Garden

HISTORY MATTERS

Gardeners, history buffs, and art lovers are ecstatic. The much anticipated exhibit on Celia Thaxter’s island garden opened last weekend at the prestigious Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. Massachusetts. American Impressionist: Childe Hassam and the Isles of Shoals features more than 40 works by the Boston painter who spent decades summering on Appledore Island, just off the Maine and New Hampshire coastline. (continued below) 

A Quick History of Gulls on the Shoals

HISTORY MATTERS

It is not quite 5 a.m. The gull colony on the uninhabited tip of Smuttynose Island have begun to murmur as the surf beats rhythmically against the jagged white-streaked rocks. The place  stinks of guano. It is littered with dried bones and empty crab shells. There are no other humans here. Just me and a few hundred sleepy dinosaurs.

The Making of an Unprecedented Edmund Tarbell Art Exhibit

HISTORY MATTERS

While the rest of us hibernate by the fire, binge-watching Netflix, a small team of art lovers are frantically counting down to March 4. That’s when the doors fling open on the biggest collection of paintings by New Castle artist Edmund C. Tarbell.  (Click on title to read more)

NH-born Publisher Enticed Charles Dickens Back to America in 1867

HISTORY MATTERS

Charles Dickens was not impressed with the United States during his first tour. But much had changed in America, and in Dickens, by his second arrival soon after the Civil War in 1867. Portsmouth, NH-born publisher James T. Fields, Dickens exclusive American publisher, convinced the world's most famous writer to give us another chance. (Click title to read more)  

Three Lives of the Portsmouth Marine Society

HISTORY MATTERS

December should be spelled with a dollar sign. We will spend a bundle on consumer goods this month, but we will also be very generous to people in need. That blend of commerce and charity defines the holiday season. That also describes the Portsmouth Marine Society, founded in 1808. Three groups have borne that name. Their stories are rarely told. (Click title to read more)

Ben Franklin Installed New Hampshire Lightning Rod in 1763

HISTORY MATTERS

Did Benjamin Franklin conduct lightning rod installation at the ancient Warner House in Portsmouth, NH while serving as Deputy Postmaster to King George III in 1763? Signs point to YES. But will Portsmouth restore damaged painting that honors the event? The jury is still out. (click title to read more) 

Kittery Little Red Schoolhouse on Life Support

HISTORY MATTERS

"I thought of moving it to John Paul Jones' Park, and maybe have a little seasonal visitor center," says Jeffrey Thomson. The chairman of Kittery's Town Council is once again brainstorming ideas for the forgotten old one-room SaffordSchool. Now that the town owns the small oval-shaped park at the entrance to the new MemorialBridge, his idea seems almost feasible. (Click title to read more) 

The Man Who Dug Up John Paul Jones

HISTORY MATTERS

110 years ago, deep in a forgotten Paris cemetery, Gen. Horace Porter came face-to-face with the corpse of a lost naval hero. The full story is dramatically and accurately told in a new book entitled The Admiral and the Ambassador. (click title to read more)

Miss Nancy Underhill Swept Off Star Island in 1848

HISTORY MATTERS

We'll never know exactly what happened to 34-year old teacher Miss Nancy Underhill on Star Island at the Isles of Shoals in September 1848. But a closer look at the facts of this legend, like others, may offer added clues. (Click title to read more) 

US WWII Ambassador John Winant Gets His Memorial at Last

HISTORY MATTERS

He was a teacher, a fighter pilot, and the hugely popular ambassador to Britain in World War II. More than any individual, according to England's King George VI, he forged the alliance between the United States and Britain that led to an Allied victory against Hitler's Nazi aggression. Both Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt trusted him implicitly. (Click title to read more)

The Unexpected Portsmouth Art Gallery

HISTORY MATTERS

Hidden in plain sight, a fascinating collection of paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and photographs are on display at the Portsmouth Public Library. (click title ro read more)

Inside the Wondrous Woodman Museum

HISTORY MATTERS

The closest you will ever get to a ten-foot tall polar bear is on Central Avenue in Dover, New Hampshire. He’s waiting inside the front door of Annie Woodman’s house. Annie Woodman died almost 100 years ago, but it wasn’t the polar bear’s fault. He’s dead too, stuffed and standing upright in a huge glass case. (Click title to read more) 

My Favorite Portsmouth History Books for Kids

HISTORY MATTERS

A New Hampshire historian shares his fears and favorite local history books for children. Includes a list at the end of two dozen vintage-to-modern books for parents and kids. (Click title to read more)

Main Street South Berwick over 200 Years

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The South Berwick, Maine, bicentennial has inspired history exhibits now on view at three locations: the Counting House Museum, South Berwick Public Library and South Berwick Town Hall. (click title to Read More)

Lakes Region Legends Celebrated in New Book

NH Books

A new local history book that commemorates the intriguing characters and everyday heroes who have made the Lakes Region’s legendary (Click title to read more) 

The Truth about Bricks and Mortar

Editor's Note: This is the second of a two-part interview with masonry consultant John Wastrom.

"There are not many of us," John Wastrom sighs.  "We're rarer than hen's teeth. And when we're gone, there aren't any more of us coming." 

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