SeacoastNH.com Presents
Historic Portsmouth #397

We hear so much about Thomas Laighton and his famous poet daughter Celia. Thomas bought the Maine half of the Isles of Shoals and moved his young family from Portsmouth to these barren rocks in 1839. Thomas eventually built the grand hotel on Appledore Island and kicked off the tourism industry that eventually killed the fishing village of Gosport. (continued below)

SeacoastNH.com Presents  
Historic Portsmouth #394

Normally we would be getting antsy for summer about this time of year. But thanks to global warming, it’s still balmy in January. These young ladies are modeling the perfect winter beachware for the near future when we can add a whole new tourists season to the Seacoast. (Continued below)

SeacoastNH.com Presents  
Historic Portsmouth #393

From the look of the midriffs here, the South Berwick Cadet Band could do with some aerobic marching practice. A snappier image of the musicians shot in Portsmouth in the 1880s was auctioned on eBay this week. That formal portrait shows the group of 20-strong in their snappy new uniforms and pointed Prussian-style helmets. (Continued below)

SeacoastNH.com Presents 
Historic Portsmouth #391

We’re going to miss Cynthia Raymond in 2012. The philanthropist and energetic volunteer passed away recently at age 98. I first met Cynthia four years ago when she was a spry 94. She invited me to tea at her condo in York Harbor, Maine to celebrate the publication of my book n Strawbery Banke Museum. (Continued below)

SeacoastNH.com Presents  
Historic Portsmouth #392

We are approaching our 400^th photograph in this little weekly column, and a lot has change in the years since it began. Libraries have come alive on the Internet. Readers and researchers have unprecedented and growing access to documents and images. (Continued below with photo)

SeacoastNH.com Presents  
Historic Portsmouth #390

Yes, this is exactly what it looks like – a holiday card from inside the Portsmouth Naval Prison. Researcher Carolyn Marvin discovered this 1938 gem in the archives of the athenaeum. It depicts the 1905 prison, closed for decades and still standing on Seavey Island in Kittery. (Continued below)

SeacoastNH.com Presents   
Historic Portsmouth #389

By bouncing a laser beam off the sun we’re now able to photograph historic events from the past, although only in black and white. This image captures that Boston rebel Paul Revere riding into town on December 13, 1774. Okay, according to the caption in the Portsmouth Athenaeum archive it is actually Hugh Underhill of UNH pretending to be Revere in the 1974 re-enactment of the raid on Fort William and Mary. (Continued below)

SeacoastNH.com Presents
Historic Portsmouth #388

Here is the third in our trio of Republican candidates for president stumping in Portsmouth. I counted at least 18 historic photos in the Portsmouth Athenaeum archive that show VP Richard Nixon campaigning here. (Continued below)

SeacoastNH.com Presents  
Historic Portsmouth #387

Thanks to political historian Tom Wilson, the Portsmouth Athenaeum collection includes at least a dozen images of the five-term Arizona Gov. Barry Goldwater (1909-1998) campaigning in Portsmouth in 1964. We see Goldwater touring the Portsmouth Herald building with editor Ray Brighton, speaking at various local clubs, posing with attorney Jeremy Waldron, and meeting with students, as seen here.  (Continued below)

SeacoastNH.com Presents  
Historic Portsmouth #386

No need to change your glasses prescription. These are Portsmouth boys holding up ROMNEY signs in 1968. They were not psychic. This Romney was the dad of 2012 presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts. I thought it might be fun to check the Athenaeum archives for Republican candidates from bygone days. (Continued below)