Only On Saturdays: Making Black Family Life in Portsmouth

The Black Heritage Trail of NH is partnering with St. John’s Episcopal Church to offer both an in-person and virtual Good Friday Walk of 14 sites on the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail. Each of these sites will pair a story of an African American with each of the Stations of the Cross.

The Black Heritage Trail of NH is partnering with St. John’s Episcopal Church to offer both an in-person and virtual Good Friday Walk of 14 sites on the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail. Each of these sites will pair a story of an African American with each of the Stations of the Cross.

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) invites the public to attend the unveiling of this historic marker in Milford as part of our statewide program, Mapping Untold Stories. This program makes visible New Hampshire’s Black history and brings to light the rich history and contributions of Black people in the state. The Milford marker honors Harriet Wilson, the first African American to publish a novel in English. Her book, “Our Nig,” or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black,…

Sankofa Tour Guide: Valerie Fagin Can you imagine the hustle and bustle of a prosperous colonial seaport town? This tour invites you to discover the world of early Portsmouth from the perspective of African American women. In spite of enslavement and hardship, these women fought for freedom, defied a sitting president, and educated generations of children to follow. Hear their stories about love and faith and struggle, as you walk past the homes of the families who enslaved them.

Tour Guide: Barbara Rimkunas Walk in the footsteps of Exeter’s earlier generations and explore the racial history of the town—the conflicts, concessions, and changes that have taken place over time. This tour will explore how racial identity has shaped Exeter’s history and will serve to open a dialogue that will help shape its future. Meeting place: Exeter Town Hall, Front Street

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, Europeans and Africans living in America joined with Native Americans, creating plant-based therapies to care for the body. The Shakers, at Canterbury and other villages, not only adopted some of these therapies but also refined and sold their own remedies. Join Curator and Historian Dr. Shirley Wajda for a special talk and tour on the history of medicine at Canterbury Shaker Village. Participants will explore several buildings including the Infirmary and the Syrup…

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Nur Shoop Colonial Portsmouth newspapers would testify to the local slave trade, runaways, abolitionists, and anti-abolitionist activities, followed by conflicting opinions of the Civil War. In the 20th century, the legacy of that early history was reflected in the news about de facto segregation in housing and public places. This tour includes many of those historic landmarks from the early nineteenth through the twentieth centuries.