Quick History Stops: Portsmouth, NH | Part 4

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In September 2022, I visited Portsmouth, New Hampshire and discovered many Quick History Stops around the city. Part 4 in this four part mini-series features features Haven Park and a statue to Fitz John Porter, Portsmouth Fire Department and the Vigilance memorial, Portsmouth Athenaeum, and City of Portsmouth informational signage.

Here is a quick roundup of three signs focused on Frank Jones’s Hotels, Bow Street, and the painter John Samuel Blunt. As described on his Portsmouth sign, Frank Jones was a “rags to riches” entrepreneur who invested in everything from ale and shoes to banking and hotels. His Rockingham Hotel was built on the grand estate of politically connected Woodbury Langdon in 1870. Today, that building has been redesigned as condos and is on the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail as a former venue for NAACP meetings. Frank Jones Brew Yard, the factory where he produced is ale, is also luxury apartments. Bow Street is among the oldest roads in Portsmouth and gets its name from its curved path. The street has seen many businesses, including the breweries, blacksmith shops, power plants, and St. John’s Episcopal Church. Portsmouth-born painter John Samuel Blunt designed the seal of New Hampshire in 1816 at age 18. He balanced his love of painting harbor landscapes with the practical of gilding and lettering whatever he was given, including picture frames, lamps, fire buckets, church pews, rocking chairs, and ship figureheads. Blunt moved with his family to Boston in 1830, perhaps hoping to increase his business, but he died five years later at age 37.

Frank Jones's Hotels sign; A light blue informational sign with the seal of Portsmouth and text describing the hotels along with reproduced photographs and prints of the hotels. Bow Street sign; A light blue informational sign with the seal of Portsmouth and text describing businesses and buildings along Bow Street along with photographs of the buildings. John Samuel Blunt, Painter sign; A light blue informational sign with the seal of Portsmouth and text describing the life and work of Blunt along with reproductions of two of his paintings, a drawing from his sketchbook, the seal of New Hampshire, a portrait of Blunt, and an advertisement for his business

Haven Park & Fitz John Porter Statue

Located at the corner of Pleasant Street and Livermore Street, Haven Park is named for the Haven family, whose family home was demolished in 1898 to create the park. Dr. Samuel Haven served as Congregationalist minister of South Church, now a Universalist Unitarian congregation, from 1752 to 1806. His portrait hangs in Chase House at Strawbery Banke. Another notable Haven was Sarah Haven Foster, who donated her watercolor paintings of local buildings to the Portsmouth Public Library, providing some of the only references to now-demolished buildings. More information about Haven Park can be found on the digital version of its informational sign.

Haven Park sign; A light blue informational sign with the seal of Portsmouth and text describing the former buildings and residents of the park, with special focus on Dr. Samuel Haven. The sign includes reproductions of paintings depicting houses in the area, a portrait of Dr. Haven, an old map, a photograph of General Fitz John Porter. Statue of General Fitz John Porter; a life size statue of a man riding a horse atop a seven foot tall concrete pedestal with metal plaques on each side.

In the center of the park is a state of Civil War officer and Portsmouth native General Fitz John Porter riding a horse. Around the base of the statue are plaques describing his accomplishments and illustrating events during the Civil War, including the time he went into a hot air balloon without a guide and drifted aimlessly over enemy lines until the wind pushed him back. This haplessness defined his military career, as he served under indecisive leaders and was court-martialed for complaining about their incompetence.

Plaque about Fitz John Porter; A plaque describing his military accomplishments Plaque of Fitz John Porter in a hot air balloon.

Portsmouth Fire Department & Vigilance Memorial

The Portsmouth Fire Department has a record of all fires in Portsmouth through 2015. The earliest of these fires was in 1696, when local Native Americans, likely Abenaki, attacked the town, resulting in the deaths of fourteen people. This event came four years after the Raid on York, near the end of King William’s War. The next fire was not recorded until 1704, when baby Elizabeth Rogers and her grandmother, Elizabeth Elatson, died in a house fire and were subsequently interred in Point of Graves Burial Ground. The first twelve firewards, precursors to firefighters, were elected in 1756 to operate the fire engine, and a fire company was established by colonial legislature in 1758. These early role had some overlap with that of the tythingman, an early police officer.

Detail from Vigilance memorial; a modern fireman holding an ax and wearing full gear stands on a red brick platform and looks through a red brick doorway. Portsmouth Fire Station 1; a two-story, red brick fire station with a six engine garage.

Fire Station 1, also known as Central Station, is the oldest of three fire stations in Portsmouth. The cornerstone was laid on October 13, 1919 and contains a time capsule with coins, newspapers, and a list with names of fire department members and government officials. The site was originally home to the Rockingham County Courthouse and is still called Court Street. The most recent change to this area is the Vigilance memorial, dedicated in 2009. According to the Portsmouth Herald, the public artwork was designed by Emile Birch of Silverbirch Design in Canaan, NH who won a contest held by the city. His design includes a pair of bronze firefighters glancing through a thirteen foot tall red brick doorway. One firefighter represents the history of the fire department, especially the members who operated Kearsarge steam fire engine purchased in 1870. The other firefighter represents the modern department, with the number 9 on his helmet for the year the sculpture was completed. The project cost a total of $95,000, or around $129,600 today according to the U.S. Inflation Calculator.

Vigilance memorial; a red brick platform with a metal plaque at the front describing the donors and design behind the memorial. A pair of bronze firefighter statues stand on smaller red brick platforms on top of the large platform on either side of a symbolic red brick doorway. The fireman to the left is dressed in 18th century clothing, while the fireman to the right is dressed in modern clothing. Sky view above Portsmouth Fire Station 1; the clouds create a unique striped pattern above the red brick fire station, several early 19th century buildings, and an American flag on a flagpole beside the fire station.

Portsmouth Athenaeum

Named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, the concept of the Athenaeum is based on a temple to the goddess in Athens, along with a school created by Roman Emperor Hadrian, and came to the United States during the 19th century in the for of a subscription library. The Portsmouth Athenaeum is among the oldest of these with its founding in 1817. I have also visited the Boston Athenaeum, founded in 1807 as the first of these libraries, and know of similar organizations in Philadelphia (1814), Providence (1836), and Indianapolis (1898). Today, the rules around the Athenaeum have relaxed significantly, as the building is often open for public events such as concerts, art exhibits, and talks.

Portsmouth Athenaeum sign; A light blue informational sign with the seal of Portsmouth and text describing the history of the Athenaeum, along wiht five photographs of the interior and exterior of the building. Portsmouth Athenaeum; a three story building with a striking redbrick exterior and a mix of nautical, Federalist, and Neoclassical design elements.

Middle Street Baptist Church & Haymarket Square

Middle Street Baptist Church was first formed in 1826 after the Second Great Awakening and is now part of American Baptist Churches USA. From 1828 to 1956, the congregation was housed in a red brick church across the street from the current location. According to the history page on the church website, its current white Federalist style building was constructed down the street in 1799 and originally called the John Peirce Mansion. This structure moved to the current location in 1956. The red brick addition, which holds the church sanctuary, was completed in the same year. While I was not able to go inside, I since learned that a settee constructed for the bottom of its ornate spiral staircase is now held at the infamous Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, DE.

In the yard of the church is a sign describing Haymaker Square, once the site for scales weighing hay. During a protest over the Stamp Act in 1765, local people hung the effigy of the local stamp tax agent, George Meserve. Today, the area is a roundabout connecting Middle Street to Court Street.

Haymarket Square sign; A light blue informational sign with the seal of Portsmouth and text describing the history of Haymarket Square with reproductions of old photographs and postcards. Middle Street Baptist Church; A three-story, white painted, clapboard sided Federalist style building with a massive bell tower. The building is attached to a red brick structure on the left.
Location: Portsmouth, NH 03801, USA