Portsmouth is a
city in
Rockingham County,
New Hampshire in the
United States. It is the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 20,784 at the
2000 census. A historic
seaport and popular summer tourist destination, Portsmouth is served by
Portsmouth International Airport at Pease, formerly the
Strategic Air Command's
Pease Air Force Base.
History
Market Square in 1853
of the
Abenaki and other nations inhabited the territory of 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 village was settled by
English immigrants in 1630 and named
Piscataqua, after the Abenaki name for the river. Then the village was called
Strawberry Banke, after the many wild
strawberries growing beside the
Piscataqua River, a tidal
estuary with a swift current. Strategically located for
trade between upstream industries and
mercantile interests abroad, the
port prospered.
Fishing,
lumber and
shipbuilding were principal businesses of the region.
s were imported as early as 1645 and were an integral part of building the city's prosperity.
[, The Heart of New England, accessed 2009-07-27] Portsmouth was part of the
Triangle Trade that made significant profits from slavery.
At the town's incorporation in 1653, it was named Portsmouth in honor of the colony's founder,
John Mason. He had been captain of the port of
Portsmouth,
England, in the county of
Hampshire, for which New Hampshire is named. In 1679, Portsmouth became the colonial capital. It also became a refuge for exiles from
Puritan Massachusetts. When
Queen Anne's War ended, the town was selected by Governor
Joseph Dudley to host negotiations for the 1713
Treaty of Portsmouth, which temporarily ended hostilities between the
Abenaki Indians and English settlements of the
Province of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire.
In the lead-up to the
Revolution, in 1774
Paul Revere rode to Portsmouth warning that the
British were coming. Although the harbor was protected by
Fort William and Mary, the rebel government moved the capital inland to
Exeter, safe from the
Royal Navy. The Navy
bombarded Falmouth (now
Portland, Maine) on October 18, 1775.
African Americans helped defend Portsmouth and New England during the war. In 1779, 19 slaves from Portsmouth wrote a petition to the state legislature and asked that it put an end to slavery, in recognition of their contributions and in keeping with the principles of the Revolution.
Their petition was not answered then, but New Hampshire later ended slavery.
Thomas Jefferson's 1807
embargo against trade with
Britain withered New England's trade with
Canada, and a number of local fortunes were lost. Others were gained by men who acted as
privateers during the
War of 1812. In 1849, Portsmouth was incorporated as a city.
Once one of the nation's busiest ports and shipbuilding cities, Portsmouth's wealth was expressed in fine
architecture. It contains significant examples of
Colonial,
Georgian, and
Federal style houses, a selection of which are now museums. Portsmouth's heart contains 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.
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 noted for producing boldly
wood-veneered Federalist furniture, particularly by master
cabinet maker Langley Boardman.
Congress Street c. 1905
The
Industrial Revolution spurred economic growth in New Hampshire
mill towns such as
Dover,
Keene,
Laconia,
Manchester,
Nashua and
Rochester, where rivers provided power for the mills. It shifted growth to the new mill towns. The port of Portsmouth declined, but the city survived through its
Victorian doldrums, a time described in the works of native son
Thomas Bailey Aldrich.
With the protection of a Historic District Commission, much of the city's irreplaceable architectural legacy survives. It draws
tourists and
artists, who each summer throng the cafes, restaurants and shops around Market Square. In 2008, Portsmouth was named one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by the
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Portsmouth shipbuilding history has had a long
symbiotic relationship with
Kittery, Maine, across the Piscataqua River. Naval hero
John Paul Jones boarded at the
Captain Gregory Purcell house, which now bears Jones' name and serves as the Portsmouth Historical Society Museum. During that time, Jones' ship
Ranger was built on nearby
Badger's Island in Kittery. The
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, established in 1800 as the first federal navy yard, is located on
Seavey's Island in Kittery. President
Theodore Roosevelt arranged for the base to host negotiations leading to the 1905
Treaty of Portsmouth, ending the
Russo-Japanese War.
Notable inhabitants
- John Cutt, merchant, first president of the Royal Province of New Hampshire
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water, comprising 7.03% of the town. Portsmouth is drained by Sagamore Creek and the
Piscataqua River. The highest point in the city is above
sea level, within Pease International Airport.
The city is crossed by
Interstate 95,
U.S. Route 1,
U.S. Route 4,
New Hampshire Route 1A,
New Hampshire Route 16, and
New Hampshire Route 33.
Demographics
Detail of the former Rockingham Hotel, rebuilt in 1885 by
Frank Jones after the original structure burned
As of the
census of 2000, there were 20,784 people, 9,875 households, and 4,858 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,331.3 people per square mile (514.1/km²). There were 10,186 housing units at an average density of 652.5/sq mi (251.9/km²). The
racial makeup of the city was 93.55%
White, 2.13%
African American, 0.21%
Native American, 2.44%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.
There were 9,875 households out of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.8% were
married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.8% were non-families. 38.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.75.
In the city the population was spread out with 17.2% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,195, and the median income for a family was $59,630. Males had a median income of $41,966 versus $29,024 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $27,540. About 6.4% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 14.3% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
- USS Albacore Museum & Park — a museum featuring the USS Albacore, a U.S. Navy submarine used for testing, which was decommissioned in 1972 and moved to the park in 1985. The submarine is open for tours.
- The Music Hall — a 900-seat theater originally opened in 1878. The theater is now run by a non-profit organization and currently under restoration. The venue hosts musical acts, theater, dance and cinema.
- New Hampshire Theatre Project - founded in 1986, a non-profit theater organization producing contemporary & classical works, and offering educational programs for all ages.
- Players' Ring - founded in 1992, a community theater to "promote the efforts of local artists through the production of original works."
- Pontine Movement Theatre — an interpretive theater group.
- Portsmouth Athenæum — a private membership library, museum and art gallery open to the public at certain times.
- Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse — first established in 1771, the current structure was built in 1878 and is open for monthly tours from May through September.
- Prescott Park Arts Festival — summer entertainments in Portsmouth's waterfront park.
- Seacoast Repertory Theatre — founded in 1988, a professional theater troupe.
- Strawbery Banke Museum — a neighborhood featuring several dozen restored historic homes in Colonial, Georgian and Federal styles of architecture. The site of one of Portsmouth's earliest settlements.
Historic house museums
Economy
Prior to its dissolution,
Boston-Maine Airways (Pan Am Clipper Connection), a regional airline, was headquartered in Portsmouth.
Sister cities
Friendship city:
Education
Media
Print
Radio
- WSCA-LP Portsmouth Community Radio 106.1 FM
See also
