Quick History Stops: Portsmouth, NH | Part 2
Way back in September 2022, I visited Portsmouth, NH and discovered many Quick History Stops around the city. Part 2 in this four part mini-series features Portsmouth Memorial Park, Point of Graves Cemetery, the liberty pole, and the liberty shield. All of these stops are located within a short walking distance of Prescott Park, which I covered in Part 1. As an added bonus, I learned a bit about the gundalow, a small but majestic replica of barges that sailed along the Piscasqua River and through Portsmouth Harbor from the late 17th century to the early 20th century. Revitalized by The Gundalow Company as a tourist attraction, visitors can cruise in the afternoon or evening while learning about the region. Looks like an adventure for the next time I go to Portsmouth!
Portsmouth Memorial Park
Located not far from the Memorial Bridge is Portsmouth Memorial Park, dedicated in November 2013. The park contains a unique granite memorial honoring American veterans. According to the plaque near the bridge written by J.W. Teetzel (likely James Wilcox Teetzel, hereditary CEO of military weapons and supplies company Wilcox Industries Corp.), the sculpture was constructed with “the granite foundation abutments that supported the Memorial Bridge for eighty-eight years”. Metal plaques embedded into the granite spell out words like “HONOR”, “PROTECT”, and “REMEMBER”. This serves as a great place to sit, reflect, and watch the bridge.
Point of Graves Burial Ground
With the cemetery established back in 1671 thanks to Captain John Pickering II, the headstones in the Point of Graves Burial Ground date back to the late 17th century back when the area was still called Strawbery Banke. Capt. Pickering is buried in this cemetery; unfortunately, his headstone is worn away. The extant headstones belong to wealthy Portsmouth residents, like members of the Wentworth family. These stones have intricate designs, the most unique carved by John Homer, a local carver specialized in a realistic skull and crossbones. Other more familiar New England headstone motifs, like the skulls with angel wings.
This cemetery is a popular spot for ghost tours, which include stories about the horrifying deaths of colonial Portsmouth residents. Anne Jaffrey, whose husband was Scottish merchant and shipowner George Jaffrey, died after complications during childbirth in 1682. William Button, once among the wealthiest people in the city, drowned after falling off his own boat in the harbor and was buried under an ornate stone in 1693. Baby Elizabeth Rogers and her grandmother, Elizabeth Elatson, died from injuries sustained during a house fire in 1704. This fire was considered so devastating that it was the first fire reported in the Boston News-Letter, which had begun printing early that year as the first regularly published paper in the British Colonies in North America.
This spot has not one but two informational signs. Due to the angle of the sun at the time I arrived, I was able to get a clear photo of only one marker. Not to worry! The digital originals of both the left marker (as seen in my picture) and right markers are available on the City of Portsmouth website.
Liberty Pole & Liberty Shield
At the entrance to Prescott Park stands a thick flagpole decorated with a bright blue, red, and gold shield. The are symbols of liberty for the people of Portsmouth since the late 18th to mid 19th centuries. The pole has gone through several iterations and locations, the first of which was put up by the Sons of Liberty prior to the American Revolution. The liberty shield came in 1857 thanks to a company called Gleason & Henderson, with the current iteration carved by master carpenter Don Ricklefs, Sr. in the 1970s. Of course, the digital file for the Liberty Pole & Bridge informational sign is on the City of Portsmouth website.
