Strawbery Banke Museum – Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Last week for date day the HH and I visited the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for the day, and we both walked away feeling like got our money’s worth {and then some} for the admission price of $19.50 per person.

“Strawbery Banke Museum, in the heart of historic downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is an authentic 10-acre outdoor history museum dedicated to bringing 300+ years of American history in the same waterfront neighborhood to life.

The Museum is a place for children, adults, multigenerational families and groups to gather to explore eight heritage gardens, 32 historic buildings and traditional crafts, preservation programs, hands-on activities, the stories told by costumed role-players and the changing exhibits that offer hours of fun and discovery.

The Museum’s restored buildings and open space invite visitors to immerse themselves in the past, using objects from the museum’s collection of 30,000 artifacts, and the histories of the families who lived and worked in the Puddle Dock neighborhood to engage, educate and entertain.” ~ Strawbery Banke Museum website

A flag out front meant a building was available to tour {some with docents, some without} and on the particular day we visited, I believe 17 of the buildings were open to take a look around.

Some of the homes in Strawbery Banke were very grand and filled with period furniture and the tables set with fine china. It was as if the homeowners had just stepped out for a minute or were in another room.

How many guests do you have in your bedroom at any given time? Do you have seating for 6? 😉

Indian shutters. Oh how I love seeing the Indian shutters in old Colonial Homes. My friend Zoë {who lives in Pennsylvania} has an exterior kitchen door with an original Indian shutter on her home. Imagine if those doors and shutters could talk.

One of my favorite stops on our self guided walking tour was the Ethnobotanical Herb Garden which wasn’t actually installed until 1967 but is filled today with both medicinal herbs that were used in New England before the 1800’s, as well as herbs used by the following generations.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to walk out your kitchen door to snip a few herbs for your meals? And I absolutely LOVED how the herb border was made with vines and branches. Both are something we have oodles of on our property. I might have to try this around my own herb garden.

Pickwick’s, a sweet little gift shop in the outdoor history museum that was filled with old fashioned toys, nightgowns, candles and other treasures.

I don’t remember the name of this building but it was filled with all sorts of model boats and shipping vessels from the colonial period.

The thing the HH and I loved most about visiting the Strawbery Banke Museum, was that many of the buildings were in various states of repair. Some of the homes were in excellent condition, while others were waiting their turn to be brought back to their former glory.

Chipped paint, layers of wallpaper, exposed lath and plaster walls, it was all on display.

This was no Monticello, with it’s perfectly laid garden beds and landscaped plots at every turn. The Strawbery Banke Museum is still very much a work in progress. And because of that, the whole place has such a charm about it.

Another unusual aspect of Strawbery Banke, was that within the 10 acre village setting, there were homes and even a few shops {like the corner market above} that were from not only from the colonial time period, but dating all the way up to the 1940’s. And the reason for that, is because the Strawbery Banke Museum didn’t actually become a historic village landmark until around the 1950’s.

The area was actually slated for an urban renewal project in which all the buildings were going to be torn down and new structures put in there place. Luckily though a bunch of local townspeople stepped in and started fundraising and saved the Strawbery Banke area from being totally wiped out.

Campbell’s Soup… 3 cans for $0.25! What a deal. {Although I don’t think cream of mushroom soup is a deal at any price. Gag}.

An icebox, indoor plumbing, and a cast iron cook stove heated with wood. It’s hard to imagine none of those things were available when the home was originally built in 1795 but were available when the last occupants moved away. If only those wall could talk. All those families, all their struggles and those long and cold new England winters.

Cooking over an open hearth was no joke. I nearly had to cover my mouth with my t-shirt because the smoke coming out of the hearth was so thick. How the colonial people didn’t die from smoke inhalation during the winter months still surprises me.

Their furniture though…. You just can’t beat it. I’d take an old colonial tavern table over anything from Target or Ikea any day of the week.

No plastic here. Everything was made to last.

I can’t decide. Do you think the chair was stuffed with horse hair or human hair?

Strawbery Banke Museum, you have my heart. I absolutely LOVED the place and cant wait to visit again. I hear they even have an ice skating pond in the winter and a fall festival that is filled with outdoor demonstrations and colonial era vendors.

I know I’ll be back!

Have a wonder day everyone,

~Mavis

Strawbery Banke Museum
14 Hancock Street
Portsmouth NH 03801

P.S. They even have a small cafe with a few tables and some nibbles. {Or you can pack a lunch and eat outside on one of the many picnic tables in the center lawn}. ♥