Portsmouth Historical Society: What to See in 2026

Portsmouth Historical Society is a non-profit museum and local history organisation at 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801. Founded in 1917, it looks after collections, exhibitions, education programmes and preservation work connected with the city. Its downtown facilities include the Welcome Center and Academy Galleries, which host changing exhibitions and a gift shop, as well as the John Paul Jones Historic House Museum at 43 Middle Street. The society also runs Portsmouth Advocates and the Portsmouth Marine Society Press, which publishes books about the area’s maritime history and culture.

The John Paul Jones House is a National Historic Landmark built in 1758. John Paul Jones rented a room there from 1781 to 1782 while supervising construction of the ship America, and the building has been operated as a museum by the society since 1920. The house has Georgian features, including a gambrel roof and central hall plan. Another site connected with the society is Point of Graves Burial Ground on Mechanic Street beside Prescott Park. Established in 1671, it contains around 125 gravestones, with the earliest legible stone dating from 1682.

For the 2026 season, the main exhibitions include Betty & Barney, about the 1961 UFO case involving Betty and Barney Hill, their civil rights work and their influence on popular culture; Contemporary Currents, a joint exhibition with the New Hampshire Art Association; and Revolutionary Portsmouth. There are also exhibitions about the 1905 Portsmouth Peace Treaty and the diplomats who came to the city between 1713 and 1905. The society offers Historic Portsmouth Walking Tours, lasting 90 minutes and running daily from May to October, along with themed tours covering cemeteries, women’s history and the city’s revolutionary period.

The main society is open seasonally from April to December, daily from 10:00 to 17:00. On the first Friday of each month, admission is free until 20:00. The John Paul Jones House is open from Memorial Day Weekend through Indigenous Peoples Day, or 31 October, from 11:00 to 17:00; Tuesdays and Wednesdays are by appointment only. Single-site admission is £10 for general visitors, £5 for discounted admission and £15 for a family ticket. A dual-site ticket costs £15, £10 discounted or £20 for a family, while walking tours cost £20, or £15 for members. Children aged 0–4 enter free, ages 5–18 pay £5, and Portsmouth residents pay £5. For information before travelling, contact (603) 436-8433 or email info@portsmouthhistory.org.