Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==History== [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|American Indians]] of the [[Abenaki]] and other [[Algonquian languages]]-speaking nations, and their predecessors, inhabited the territory of coastal [[New Hampshire]] for thousands of years before European contact. The first known European to explore and write about the area was [[Martin Pring]] in 1603. The Piscataqua River is a tidal [[estuary]] with a swift current, but forms a good natural harbor. The west bank of the harbor was settled by European colonists in 1630 and named [[Strawbery Banke]], after the many wild [[Fragaria|strawberries]] growing there. The village was protected by [[Fort William and Mary]] on what is now [[New Castle, New Hampshire|New Castle Island]]. Strategically located for trade between upstream industries and [[mercantilism|mercantile]] interests abroad, the port prospered. Fishing, [[lumber]] and [[shipbuilding]] were principal businesses of the region.<ref name=cool>{{Cite book| last = Coolidge| first = A. J. |author2=J. B. Mansfield| title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = H. G. Houghton and Company| year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n664 622]–629| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> [[Slavery in the colonial history of the United States|Enslaved Africans]] were [[Atlantic slave trade|imported]] as laborers as early as 1645 and were integral to building the city's prosperity.<ref name=ring>{{Cite web |url= http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/travel-NH-Black-History.html| first= Phyllis| last= Ring |title=The Place Her People Made |work=The Heart of New England| access-date=August 27, 2010}}</ref> Portsmouth was part of the [[Triangle Trade]], which made significant profits from slavery. [[File:Market Square in 1853, Portsmouth, NH.jpg|thumb|left|Market Square in 1853]] [[File:Portsmouth Harbor New Hampshire William James Glackens.jpeg|thumb|left|''Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire'' by [[William James Glackens]] (1909)]] [[File:Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1917).jpg|thumb|right|Waterfront, 1917]] At the town's incorporation in 1653, it was named "Portsmouth" in honor of the colony's founder, [[John Mason (governor)|John Mason]]. He had been captain of the English port of [[Portsmouth]], [[Hampshire]], after which New Hampshire is named. [[Richard Martyn (New Hampshire politician)|Richard Martyn]] was one of the founders of the first church in Portsmouth, and served as Selectman, Representative to the General Court, Speaker of the House, and Chief Justice. [[File:JeffersonSt.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Jefferson Street at the [[Strawbery Banke|Strawbery Banke Museum]]. This museum complex includes 37 restored buildings built between the 17th and 19th centuries.]] When [[Queen Anne's War]] ended in 1712, Governor [[Joseph Dudley]] selected the town to host negotiations for the 1713 [[Treaty of Portsmouth (1713)|Treaty of Portsmouth]], which temporarily ended hostilities between the [[Abenaki]] [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]] and the colonies of [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts Bay]] and New Hampshire.<ref name=cool /> In 1774, in the lead-up to the [[American Revolution|Revolution]], [[Paul Revere]] rode to Portsmouth warning that the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] [[Royal Navy]] was coming to capture the port.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://seacoastnh.com/history/rev/revere.html |first= J. Dennis |last= Robinson |title= Paul Revere's Other Ride |work= Seacoast NH History |access-date= August 27, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120126150304/http://www.seacoastnh.com/history/rev/revere.html |archive-date= January 26, 2012 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Although [[Fort William and Mary]] protected the harbor, the Patriot government moved the capital inland to [[Exeter, New Hampshire|Exeter]], which ensured that it would be under no threat from the Royal Navy, which [[Bombardment|bombarded]] Falmouth (now [[Portland, Maine]]) instead on October 18, 1775. Portsmouth was the destination for several of [[Pierre Beaumarchais|Beaumarchais's]] ships containing [[materiel]], such as artillery, tents, and gunpowder, to help the American revolutionary effort.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2017/09/americas-first-black-ops/ |title=America's First Black Ops |author=Bob Ruppert |work=allthingsliberty.com |date=September 5, 2017 |accessdate=June 20, 2021}}</ref> African Americans helped defend Portsmouth and New England during the war. In 1779, 19 enslaved African Americans from Portsmouth wrote a [[s:Petition To The New Hampshire Government (1779)|petition to the state legislature]] and asked that it abolish slavery, in recognition of their war contributions and in keeping with the principles of the Revolution.<ref name=ring /> The legislature tabled their petition. New Hampshire abolished slavery in 1857, by which time the institution was effectively extinct in the state. [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s 1807 [[Embargo Act of 1807|embargo]] against American trade with [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] severely disrupted New England's trade with [[British North America|Canada]], and several local businessmen went bankrupt. Portsmouth was host to numerous [[privateer]]s during the [[War of 1812]]. In 1849, Portsmouth was incorporated as a city.<ref name=cool /> Once one of the nation's busiest ports and shipbuilding cities, Portsmouth expressed its wealth in fine architecture. It has significant examples of [[American colonial architecture|Colonial]], [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]], and [[Federal architecture|Federal style]] houses, some of which are now museums. Portsmouth's heart has stately brick Federalist stores and townhouses, built all-of-a-piece after devastating early 19th-century fires. The worst was in 1813 when 244 buildings burned.<ref name=cool /> A fire district was created that required all new buildings within its boundaries to be built of brick with [[slate]] roofs; this created the downtown's distinctive appearance. The city was also noted for the production of boldly [[wood veneer|wood-veneered]] federal-style (neoclassical) furniture, particularly by the master [[cabinetry|cabinet maker]] Langley Boardman. The [[Industrial Revolution]] spurred economic growth in New Hampshire [[mill town]]s such as [[Dover, New Hampshire|Dover]], [[Keene, New Hampshire|Keene]], [[Laconia, New Hampshire|Laconia]], [[Manchester, New Hampshire|Manchester]], [[Nashua, New Hampshire|Nashua]] and [[Rochester, New Hampshire|Rochester]], where rivers provided water power for the mills. It shifted growth to the new mill towns. The port of Portsmouth declined, but the city survived [[Victorian era|Victorian]]-era doldrums, a time described in the works of [[Thomas Bailey Aldrich]], particularly in his 1869 novel ''[[The Story of a Bad Boy]]''. In the 20th century, the city founded a Historic District Commission, which has worked to protect much of the city's irreplaceable architectural legacy. In 2008, the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] named Portsmouth one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations".<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/northeast-region/portsmouth-nh-2008.html |title=Dozen Distinctive Destinations: Portsmouth, NH |work= Preservation Nation |access-date=August 27, 2010 }}</ref> The compact and walkable downtown on the waterfront draws tourists and artists, who each summer throng the cafes, restaurants and shops around Market Square. Portsmouth annually celebrates the revitalization of its downtown (in particular Market Square) with Market Square Day,<ref>[http://www.proportsmouth.org/WhatisMSD.cfm What is Market Square Day?]</ref> a celebration dating back to 1977, produced by the non-profit Pro Portsmouth, Inc. This emphasis on historic preservation and revitalization was the result of much pain and destruction. Portsmouth is largely walkable due to its network of streets and tight blocks filled with preserved Revolution-era homes. However, like many other cities all over the region (and nation), Portsmouth was hit by Urban Renewal, a planning tool used nationwide to provide Federal funds to address “urban blight” and revitalize downtown cores after decades of suburbanization and loss of tax revenue. An urban renewal district for Portsmouth was its North End neighborhood, which similar to Boston’s, was home to an Italian-American population.<ref name="URBAN RENEWAL PORTSMOUTH NH">{{cite web |url=https://buildingsofnewengland.com/tag/urban-renewal-portsmouth-nh/|title=URBAN RENEWAL PORTSMOUTH NH |work= Buildings of New England |date=May 15, 2022 |access-date=July 22, 2023 }}</ref> In 1964, federal funds were allocated to the North End project area in Portsmouth, for urban renewal. Prior to redevelopment, the North End was a mix of residential and commercial buildings, with many older houses converted into storefronts with apartments above. In the mid-1960s, the area was considered overcrowded, run down, and a fire hazard. As a result, the Portsmouth Housing Authority proposed the destruction of approximately 200 buildings, a school, and a church and redevelopment for commercial, industrial, and public use, rather than for residences. The project would displace approximately 300 families as a result. In 1968, Portsmouth Preservation Inc., a preservation organization was formed to attempt to save some of the historic building stock in the area slated for redevelopment. After bitter fighting and preservation advocacy, just fourteen houses were saved and mostly moved to an area known today as “The Hill”.<ref name="URBAN RENEWAL PORTSMOUTH NH"/> This preservation was only the beginning, and eventually efforts conspired to created the afformentioned historic district. Urban renewal was many events that led to its creation. Portsmouth shipbuilding history has had a long [[symbiosis|symbiotic]] relationship with [[Kittery, Maine]], across the Piscataqua River. In 1781–1782, the naval hero [[John Paul Jones]] lived in Portsmouth while he supervised construction of his ship [[USS Ranger (1777)|''Ranger'']], which was built on nearby [[Badger's Island]] in Kittery. During that time, he boarded at the [[John Paul Jones House|Captain Gregory Purcell house]], which now bears Jones' name, as it is the only surviving property in the United States associated with him. Built by the master [[housewright]] Hopestill Cheswell, an African American,<ref name="Black Portsmouth">{{cite book |isbn=9781584652892 |title=Black Portsmouth: Three Centuries of African-American Heritage |year=2004 |last1=Sammons |first1=Mark J. |last2=Cunningham |first2=Valerie |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=f7BJj742rUwC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA32 32–33] |publisher=University of New Hampshire Press |place=[[Durham, New Hampshire]] |url=http://www.upne.com/1584652896.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810234657/http://www.upne.com/1584652896.html |archive-date=2016-08-10 |access-date=2009-07-27 |oclc=845682328 |url-status=usurped |lccn=2004007172}}</ref> it has been designated as a [[National Historic Landmark]]. It now serves as the Portsmouth Historical Society Museum. The [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]], established in 1800 as the first federal navy yard, is on [[Seavey's Island]] in Kittery, Maine.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.seacoastnh.com/brewster/82.html|first= Charles W.|last= Brewster |title=The Ship "America" and John Paul Jones |work=Seacoast NH |access-date=August 27, 2010 }}</ref> The base is famous for being the site of the 1905 signing of the [[Treaty of Portsmouth]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.portsmouthpeacetreaty.org|title=The Treaty of Portsmouth (Portsmouth Peace Treaty)|website=www.portsmouthpeacetreaty.org|access-date=2018-07-17}}</ref> which ended the [[Russo-Japanese War]]. Though US President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] orchestrated the peace conference that brought Russian and Japanese diplomats to Portsmouth and the Shipyard, he never came to Portsmouth, relying on the Navy and people of New Hampshire as the hosts. Roosevelt won the 1906 [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for his diplomacy in bringing about an end to the war.
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
(section)
Add topic