Strawbery Banke Book Offers 400-Year History of Obama Campaign Site in Portsmouth NH

Buy the book CLICK HERE

For those who first heard about Strawbery Banke following a visit by President Barack Obama, there’s a lot more to learn. The 10-acre museum is known as “America’s oldest neighborhood” and was settled in 1630 on the bank of the New Hampshire side of the PiscataquaRiver. The settlement “accidentally named Strawberry Banke” was renamed Portsmouth, NH in 1652. It is directly across the river from Kittery, Maine, home of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. A nearby fishing settlement in nearby Rye was established in 1623, just three years after those so-called “Pilgrims” landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. (Continued below)

Why did President Barack Obama fly to Strawbery Bank (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)  immediately after being nominated for second term as Preisden of the United States? Because it's a very cool place and, we like to think, the Center of the Universe.

Scroll down for S-Span Pix of Portsmouth Visit

New Hampshire has only one seaport and a tiny 17-mile coastline, so there’s been a lot of action on this spot for nearly 400 years. Paul Revere rode into town in 1774 and kicked off a battle here four months before the American Revolution began. John Paul Jones launched the Ranger here in 1777 and attacked the British Isles with a Portsmouth-built ship. William Whipple who lived downtown signed the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock had a beer or two at the tavern here. President George Washington walked through in 1789 to visit the mother of his secretary Tobias Lear whose house is still just down the road.

StrawberyBankeMuseum has over 30 restored buildings saved from destruction in the 1950s. It is a curious museum and the topic of my 400-page hardcover book. Filmmaker Ken Burns called it “An important book about one of America’s most important history museums.”

If you want to know how the museum got started and what it stands for, CLICK HERE to order a signed copy. The book contains 400 pictures, many by my friends Ralph Morang, Richard Haynes and the late Doug Armsden. I worked on the project for three years and it is one of a dozen history books I’ve written, You can purchase a signed copy via PayPal or at my store on Amazon.com as a “collectible” book.

I’m very proud of this handsome volume that tells the full story –warts and all – of the creation of an outdoor history museum that celebrates all aspects of America. The first half of the book includes a history of Portsmouth, NH from Native Americans and its  “orphaned” first settlers from England, through the rise and fall of the maritime economy here.

The book makes a great gift. It’s not only a solid introduction to the great state of New Hampshire, but offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at the struggles of starting and maintaining a campus of historic buildings. The administrators of the museum gave me full range to tell the story as I saw it – a three year project of discovery that I know will fascinate any reader who wants to know our unique (and feisty) New Hampshire version of the founding of America.

Thanks so much for buying a copy from the author. 
J. Dennis Robinson 
Portsmouth, NH