During my three-day trip of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area, I visited Portsmouth Historical Society and its John Paul Jones House, which are a members of the New England Museum Association (NEMA). While John Paul Jones (JPJ) was mentioned at the American Independence Museum in Exeter, New Hampshire and appeared in a novel written by Sarah Orne Jewett of Berwick, Maine, whose house is preserved by Historic New England (HNE), I admittedly did not know much about his life. The details were less glamorous than many 18^th and 19^th century biographies made it out to be.

John Paul Jones House

John Paul Jones was briefly a captain in the American Revolutionary War. His stay at the house that bears his name was equally brief, as he was said to have rented a room in 1781, providing much needed income for the widow of another sea captain, Gregory Purcell, for whom the house was built in 1758. The house was later owned by prominent families whose other homes I visited on the trip, including the Langdon family (Governor John Langdon House of HNE) and Ladd family (Moffatt-Ladd House; blog post coming soon!). Today, the house is on the National Register of Historic Places, where it is list with an alternative name of Purcell-Jones-Langdon House.

A yellow-painted, clapboard, three-story, Georgian home with a white metal flagpole in front. American flag banners hang between the first and second story.

A metal plaque reading in part JOHN PAUL JONES HOUSE HAS BEEN DESIGNATED A REGISTERED NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK... 1973

The Man Himself

Known primarily for his (likely apocryphal) line, “I have not yet begun to fight”, when asked to surrender during a sea battle, John Paul was born in Scotland in 1747 and later added “Jones” to his name. While referred to as a “Father of the American Navy” by President Theodore Roosevelt, JPJ began his career in the British Merchant Navy and ended it in the Russian Imperial Navy under Catherine the Great. He spent much of the time privateering rather than in formal military service and died alone in 1792 at age 45. A model of his famous ship, the Bonhomme Richard, along with two busts and a portrait of JPJ are in his gallery.

A sign describing the later life and death of John Paul Jones

An oil painting and a ship model, both featuring the USS Congress

A sign about the legacy of John Paul Johns in literature

The Russo-Japanese War

A war mostly forgotten in the United States except in Portsmouth, ambassadors from Russian and Japan came to the little New Hampshire city at the bidding for President Theodore Roosevelt to prevent war over the territories of Manchuria and Korea (which did not really belong to either country in the first place...) A dense exhibit with a textbook worth of words and pictures covers ever event in the war and peace talks. This exhibit would be fascinating for hardcore Russo-Japanese War fans, but a short documentary might have been a better choice for everyone else.

Original print of a commemorative stamp featuring the Russian flag, Japanese flag, Portsmouth bell tower, and a dove carrying an olive branch

A map of crucial sights in the Russo-Japanese War peace talks

Detail from a poster describing the role of Theodore Roosevelt in the Russo-Japanese War Peace Talks.

View of the full exhibit on the Russo-Japanese war. The twenty foot by thirty foot room is covered floor to ceiling in text and images, with artifacts at the center of the room.

Other Artifacts

Since the JPJ House holds the collections of the Portsmouth Historical Society, much of its contents are similar to other, albeit smaller, historical societies. Mini exhibits include artifacts from the 1976 bicentennial celebration, antique furniture, delft dishes, walking canes, needlepoint samplers, a single plaque about women’s history, and JPJ themed soap on sale at the giftshop. A slightly creepy dummy dressed as a revolutionary war soldier is a great opportunity for a selfie.

A pantry with five shelves of delft dishes

Needlepoint drawers. So many needlepoint drawers. OMG.

Sign describing the lives of Women in Portsmouth

Bedroom with canopy bed, antique furniture, and oil portraits

Six framed needlepoint samples on a plain cream wall

Soap with the face of John Paul Jones on the container

So many walking canes. Like you would not believe.

A selfie of me (white woman with short brown hair and thick glasses) next to a dummy dressed like a Revolutionary War soldiar

Discover Portsmouth Welcome Center

Located down the street from John Paul Jones House, the Discover Portsmouth Welcome Center is a welcome center, giftshop, and gallery space. I visited on the first Friday of the month to take advantage of the Art 'Round Town event, where galleries in Portsmouth stay open late.

A sign including information about Portsmouth, map of New England, and images from the exhibit, indicating where the illustrator lives.

“Imagine That! The Power of Picture Books” Exhibit

The main gallery held the exhibit “Imagine That! The Power of Picture Books”, which showcased children’s book illustrations created by artists from New England. Picture books included The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, Curious George by Margret and H. A. Rey, Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey, 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle, and many others. I had fun looking at the original artwork from many of my favorite illustrators.

A green dinosaur with children on its back and neck romps through a city

A little girl holds up a bucket of blueberries to a black bear

A little red house on top of a green hill with a yellow sun setting like a timelapse

Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat walk down the gangplank of a boat

A blue covered wagon pulled by a cow surrounded by a family in 19th century clothing

A grown duck surrounded by little yellow ducks and one rubber duck

Frightened Italian villagers cower and pray as a friendly witch watches from the doorway, and a foolish young man raises his hand to hold back the spaghetti. I promise this makes sense in context.

Massive stone cliffs by the wavy water. A sailboat glides through it.

A Black girl wearing a yellow dress address a crowd from a stage.

Red Sox baseball player Pedro Martinez is lifted by his cheering teammates after a game.

A pair of Alaskan Natives stand beside their sled pulled by sled dogs. Their cat sits in a bag on top of the sled.

Seacoast African American Cultural Center

The other gallery space at the Discover Portsmouth Center features modern African art, including laser burnt portrait and other sculptural pieces. The theme of the current exhibit is Afrofuturism, described by the SAACC website as “A vision of the future in which people of African descent not only have a place in—but are synonymous with—the progress and advancement of the human race”.

A painted board with African imagery, including red parrots, geometric designs in red, dark blue, light blue, and yellow, and the figure of a woman.

Wooden sculpture with the laser burnt portrait of a young Black man. Extra pieces of wood create a stylized headdress and collar.

Conclusion

Visiting the venues of Portsmouth Historical Society is a great way to learn the history and see rotating art exhibits. The galleries are family-friendly, and the elevator in the Discover Portsmouth Center allows everyone to see all the floor. Like most Georgian houses, the John Paul Jones House does not have an elevator. If short on time, opt to take a picture of the John Paul Jones House and focus on the welcome center instead.

Admission is $10 for non-military, non-members or reciprocal members from 18 to 69, free for everyone else. The Discover Portsmouth Center is open April through December, seven days a week, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. John Paul Jones is open from the last weekend in May through the second Monday in October from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., plus Veterans Day from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 7/10

Accessibility: 7/10

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Abby Epplett, Historian

Portsmouth Historical Society & John Paul Jones House