DISCOVER PORTSMOUTH  

Throw away those old schoolbooks. Your history teacher got it wrong.  From Columbus to Plymouth Rock, US history is peppered with false notions. Historic Portsmouth, NH offers a salty alternative to the standard stories. With scores of restored homes, New Hampshire’s only seaport clings to its colonial charm. And the locals are itching to reveal the fascinating truth you didn’t get in class. (continued below)  

 For more information on all these hsitoric sites and many more visit the Discover Portsmouth Center in Portsmouth, NH. 

Myth 1:
Pilgrims seeking religious freedom founded America 

THE TRUTH: While some early settlers were motivated by their religious beliefs, Portsmouth, like most early American cities, was founded by capitalists. Wealthy English businessmen bankrolled early exploring, fishing, and fur-trading ventures here on the Atlantic Coast. Adventurers, laborers, and indentured servants were among the first to arrive, some devout, some not. Early NH investors even hoped that the Piscataqua River was the secret passage to a lucrative trade route to China. In 1630 a group of men and women settled at what is today Strawbery Banke Museum. They dug for gold, searched for precious gems, and tried making wine without success. Yet many colonists still got rich harvesting tall pine trees for the masts of Royal Navy ships. 

SEE MORE:  The site of the early settlement in the river is now home to Portsmouth’s Prescott Park, scenes of outdoors plays, concerts, festivals and a flower garden. Over two-dozen Portsmouth homes from 1695 to 1830 still stand on their original foundations in New Hampshire’s oldest neighborhood at Strawbery Banke Museum inthe South End of town. 

CONTINUE TO MYTH #2