Honoring the states we serve · New Hampshire

Strawbery Banke: The Portsmouth Neighborhood a Community Saved

In the South End of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a whole neighborhood of historic homes, shops and gardens stands along the banks of the Piscataqua River. Strawbery Banke tells the story of ordinary American families across more than three centuries, and it exists today because local people refused to let it be torn down.

A red colonial clapboard house beside a green lawn at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire — Strawbery Banke · Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Photo: Lee Wright, CC BY 2.0

A name from the wild berries

When English settlers arrived at the mouth of the Piscataqua River around 1630, they found wild strawberries growing along its banks, and they named their settlement Strawbery Banke. The town grew into a busy seaport and later took the name Portsmouth. The waterfront neighborhood near the merchants' wharves came to be known as Puddle Dock.

Three centuries of everyday life

For a little over three hundred years, from the 1600s to the late 1950s, Puddle Dock was a living neighborhood. Sea captains and merchants, craftsmen and shopkeepers, and generations of immigrant families made their homes there. Its houses changed with every generation, and together they tell the story of how ordinary Americans lived, worked and raised their children.

Saved by its community

In the 1950s, the neighborhood was slated for urban renewal, a plan that would have cleared its old buildings away. A large group of local preservationists stepped in to save them. Their efforts preserved the historic houses, and Strawbery Banke opened as a museum in 1965. It remains a powerful reminder that a community can choose to protect its own history.

Strawbery Banke today

Today Strawbery Banke is an outdoor history museum with more than 37 restored buildings in Portsmouth's South End historic district. Visitors can walk its lanes and gardens, step inside homes furnished for different eras, and meet costumed interpreters who bring the neighborhood's past to life.

Planning your visit

Where: Portsmouth's South End, near Prescott Park and the waterfront.
Seasons, hours and tickets: check strawberybanke.org before you go.
Nearby: Prescott Park's gardens, Market Square, and the Portsmouth harbor waterfront.

Making a home in New Hampshire

From Portsmouth and the Seacoast to Manchester, Nashua, Concord and the Lakes Region, New Hampshire offers historic towns, natural beauty and easy access to Greater Boston. Beyond Financing, Inc. is licensed in New Hampshire as a mortgage broker and correspondent lender. Whether you are buying your first home, are self-employed, or file taxes with an ITIN, our team will compare programs from several lenders and explain every step in English, Português or Español.

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Sources

Strawbery Banke Museum, strawberybanke.org
Wikipedia, "Strawbery Banke"

Part of our series honoring the communities in the nine states where Beyond Financing, Inc. is licensed. Beyond Financing, Inc., NMLS #2394496. Equal Housing Opportunity. This is not a commitment to lend; all loans are subject to credit approval and program guidelines. Not affiliated with Strawbery Banke Museum or Beyond Finance, LLC.