No one who knows Portsmouth history is surprised to see more bodies discovered under Chestnut Street this week. It was, after all, the site of the city’s "Negro Burying Ground". We assumed that the 13 burials found in 2004 were just the tip of the iceberg. The blast of media attention over a burial is curious, considering there has been a brass plaque on the site for years indicating that this is an ancient burial ground. (Continued)

History Blog #08
November 12, 2008

Rodman Philbrick has a new book due. Rod was born in Boston, graduated from Portsmouth HIgh in 1969 and has been a son of the Seacosat all his life. He is among the most successful of our working local writers today. His novel Freak the Mighty has sold over 2 million copies world-wide, and was made into one of the best family films (The Mighty) ever to fly under the radar. (Continued)

Seacoast History Blog #07
November 10, 2008

What would historians do without the Internet? Take these fragile browning receipts (see below) from the ROYAL ARCANUM. Birgit Christiansen sent these over by snail mail. She says her husband found them while insulating an attic on Union Street in Portsmouth. NH. And what a surprise it turns out to be – but only after a little digging. (Continued)

Seacoast History Blog #06
November 8, 2008

The first Seacoast history piece I ever wrote was about Thanksgiving. I called it "Turkeygate". I think it was the mid-1970s and I was living in my first post college apartment on Union Street and trying to make a living as a freelance writer. It was a miserable year for a fresh young ego.

Seacoast History Blog #05
November 5, 2008

The organizers of the new Discover Portsmouth visitor center met today to kick off a yearlong study supported by the New Hampshire Humanities Council. The first year at the DPC, amazingly, is over. Now the really hard part begins – keeping the new facility alive. This extraordinary concept, housed in two 1810 brick buildings, is hardly a slam dunk. It may look sturdy, but it is still a fragil institution. (Continued)

Seacoast History Blog #04
November 4, 2008

How fascinating to go from writing about the past to being scooped up in the transformational change of the election of Barack Obama, a name so new that even my spell checker is confused). After voting late in the evening, we retired to the TV like most of America – like most of the TV-watching world – too see the election returns roll in. (Continued) 

Seacoast History Blog #03
November 3. 2008

The decision to revise SeacoastNH.com to an "All History" format has not come easily. Those modifications will begin soon. In fact, they begin today with the elimination of the monthly Contest. As small an item as it may seem, it sucks up a lot of time – and money. With roughly 150 contests completed, the end had come. If you’re reading this site only for the free prize, I must bid you adieu. (Continued)

Seacoast History Blog #02
November 2, 2008

How does Paris Hilton handle it? Last week I got more than my fair share of local celebrity and, if you must know, it was both satisfying and frightening. After decades of railing against the machine, it is odd, every now and then, to be invited inside the establishment and toasted. (Continued)

Seacosat HIstory Blog #01
NOVEMBER 1, 2008 

Someone told me a few years ago that this web site was little more than Robinson’s blog. The speaker intended the comment to be a slap. Blogs were a new concept and represented, at the time, a new baseline for content on the Web. A blog was little more than a few words from an unknown person, an online diary for the masses. (Continued)