2026 Portsmouth Guided Walking Tours
Walk Through History. Experience Stories That Changed New Hampshire.
Step into the streets of Portsmouth to uncover the powerful, often hidden stories of Black lives that shaped New Hampshire—from enslavement and resistance to freedom, legacy, and belonging.
More than just a tour, our trained Sankofa Scholars will take you on a journey that connects the past to the present and invites you to see history and your place in it differently.
Sankofa Tour Guides are specially trained interpreters who lead our tours through the lens of the Black experience. Inspired by the Akan principle of Sankofa—“go back and get it”—they recover and share overlooked histories, offering a deeper, more truthful understanding of New Hampshire’s past.
Portsmouth Guided Walking Tours
Tour Details
Duration: 90 minutes
Location: Portsmouth, NH (Starting at 222 Court Street)
Pricing:
Adults: $20
Seniors: $15
Youth: $10
Group Size: Up to 20 people
Walking Level: Moderate
Ona Judge Day Tour
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Sonya Arroyo
In 2022, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed a bill that declared May 21 st to be Ona Judge Day. The declaration honors that day in 1796 on which Ona Maria Judge Staines left the residence of President George and Martha Washington in Philadelphia, boarded a ship to Portsmouth, and lived a long and dignified life in New Hampshire, free, but a fugitive.
On this special Ona Judge Day Tour, you will hear the true story of a young woman's quest for freedom. See the waterfront where Ona landed and visit the Portsmouth properties of some of America's most famous families - the Langdons, Warners, and Lears - whose stories are also bound to her incredible journey.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Lives Bound Together: The Washingtons & Ona Marie Judge in NH
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Sonya Arroyo
During President George Washington’s final months in office, a woman named Ona Marie Judge was enslaved in the household of the First Family. In the spring of 1775, she sought her freedom, escaping from the Washingtons' executive mansion in Philadelphia with the aid of that city’s free Black community and making her way to Portsmouth. On this tour, you will hear the true story of Judge’s quest for freedom and the President’s relentless efforts to get her back. See the waterfront where she lands and visit the properties of some of America’s most famous families: the Langdons, Whipples, and Lears, whose stories were also bound to hers.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
War and Belonging: Black Soldiers of Portsmouth
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Bob Sheppard
Join Sankofa Scholar Bob Shepard, son of a Tuskegee Airman, for a powerful new walking
tour exploring the legacy of Black military service from the Revolutionary War to the
Vietnam War era.
Walk the streets of Portsmouth as you uncover the story of Prince Whipple, who fought for
freedom during the American Revolution; hear about the imprisonment of Harvey and
Daniels at the Navy Yard during the Vietnam War; and learn about Rosary Cooper’s vital
contributions on the home front during World War II.
Led by a guide with a personal legacy of military service, this story-driven tour invites you to
reflect on the meaning of service, sacrifice, and belonging.
Be among the first to experience this new tour—reserve your spot today.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Thirst for Freedom: From NH's Slave Trade to Its Civil Rights Movement
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Nur Shoop
Colonial Portsmouth newspapers testify to local involvement in the slave trade, runaway freedom-seekers, 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 locally in newspaper reports of the struggles to end de facto segregation in housing, employment, and public places. This tour includes many of those historic landmarks from the early seventeenth through the twentieth centuries.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Ain't She A Woman: Let Me Tell You Her Story
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Valerie Fagin
Can you imagine the hustle and bustle of a prosperous colonial seaport town? This interactive tour invites you to discover the world of past and present Portsmouth from the perspective of African-born and next generations of African American women. Learn how, in spite of enslavement and the burdens of racial discrimination, these pioneers of change fought for justice and freedom, defied a sitting United States president, and educated generations of children. Hear the stories and celebrate the resilience, versatility, and courage revealed in our shared seacoast his/herstory!
Black Family Life: Building Community in Bondage and in Freedom
Join Daniel Comly for a moving walking tour that reveals the deeply human stories of love,
family, and resilience in early Portsmouth.
Guided through careful research and a commitment to sharing histories beyond his own
lived experience, Daniel brings forward the voices and lives of Black families who, in a time
marked by enslavement, separation, and uncertainty, formed relationships, married, raised
children, and built strong communities.
As you walk through the streets where their lives unfolded, you’ll hear powerful, true stories
of connection and courage—stories of families who refused to be defined by the limits
placed on them and instead claimed their place, their dignity, and their future.
Through storytelling and conversation, this tour invites you to reflect on what it means to
build a home, sustain love, and fight to belong.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Black Family Life: Building Community in Bondage and in Freedom
Join Daniel Comly for a moving walking tour that reveals the deeply human stories of love,
family, and resilience in early Portsmouth.
Guided through careful research and a commitment to sharing histories beyond his own
lived experience, Daniel brings forward the voices and lives of Black families who, in a time
marked by enslavement, separation, and uncertainty, formed relationships, married, raised
children, and built strong communities.
As you walk through the streets where their lives unfolded, you’ll hear powerful, true stories
of connection and courage—stories of families who refused to be defined by the limits
placed on them and instead claimed their place, their dignity, and their future.
Through storytelling and conversation, this tour invites you to reflect on what it means to
build a home, sustain love, and fight to belong.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Reclaiming History, Declaring Dignity: Celebratory Bus Tour Honoring America's 250th!
The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, in partnership with the Independence Museum and Exeter Historical Society, invited the public to join us for a moving, immersive journey through New Hampshire’s Black Revolutionary War history.
Our day begins on Pierce Island in Portsmouth with an opening ceremony and musket salute, grounding us in the revolutionary moment when ideas of liberty, freedom, and independence were articulated, but not yet extended at all. From there, participants will board a bus for a guided historical tour tracing the lives and legacies of Black New Hampshire patriots from Portsmouth, New Market, and Exeter.
The tour begins in Portsmouth with Prince Whipple, an enslaved man who became a Revolutionary War soldier and signer of the 1779 Petition of Freedom, one of the earliest collective demands by enslaved Africans in New England for emancipation.
We then travel to Newmarket, the hometown of Wentworth Cheswell, a patriot, historian, and town leader who is reported to have carried out his own Sons of Liberty ride, much like Paul Revere’s.
Our journey continues to Exeter, New Hampshire’s then capital, where revolutionary ideas were debated, drafted, and put into motion. There, we will hear about Jude Hall, who earned his freedom by fighting at Bunker Hill, and many other veterans. In Exeter, we will also visit the American Independence Museum for lunch and to view a special exhibit that situates New Hampshire within the broader struggle for independence, while inviting us to reflect on whose freedom was secured, and whose was deferred.
We will return to Portsmouth having traveled not just across geography, but across memory and meaning. This tour, part of our Juneteeth celebration, asks us to reckon honestly with American freedom - its promises, its contradictions, and its unfinished work. At a time when Black history is being erased, challenged, or silenced, this program calls us to look at our shared American history with clear, dispassionate eyes. By centering the stories of Black patriots, we gain a fuller, truer understanding of the Revolution and are reminded that the fight for liberty has always been multiracial, complex, and ongoing.
Meeting Place: Peirce Island, Portsmouth, NH
Limited to 30 people
War and Belonging: Black Soldiers of Portsmouth
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Bob Sheppard
Join Sankofa Scholar Bob Shepard, son of a Tuskegee Airman, for a powerful new walking
tour exploring the legacy of Black military service from the Revolutionary War to the
Vietnam War era.
Walk the streets of Portsmouth as you uncover the story of Prince Whipple, who fought for
freedom during the American Revolution; hear about the imprisonment of Harvey and
Daniels at the Navy Yard during the Vietnam War; and learn about Rosary Cooper’s vital
contributions on the home front during World War II.
Led by a guide with a personal legacy of military service, this story-driven tour invites you to
reflect on the meaning of service, sacrifice, and belonging.
Be among the first to experience this new tour—reserve your spot today.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Portsmouth Green Book Tour
This Sankofa Tour describes some of the local people and places that would help African American travelers find safety and avoid the humiliation often experienced in the North, where racial discrimination could legally prohibit Black people from entering the same spaces as fellow citizens who were white. Many variations of the now-famous "Negro Motorist Green Book" identified useful local area information for travelers. All are evidence of the resilience of Black communities to survive the 20th century’s age of apartheid. A guidebook was used as a tool by African American travelers wanting to enjoy themselves without concerns of racism.
Civil rights activists used the travelers’ guides as part of their work, finding Black-owned guest houses and some church people's parlors as safe meeting spots. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended legal and de facto segregation, many smaller independent businesses began to disappear.
Every version of the segregation-era Green Book was a valuable resource, but what is not written on those pages is where the real stories and histories are. This is our story.
Ain't She A Woman: Let Me Tell You Her Story
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Valerie Fagin
Can you imagine the hustle and bustle of a prosperous colonial seaport town? This interactive tour invites you to discover the world of past and present Portsmouth from the perspective of African-born and next generations of African American women. Learn how, in spite of enslavement and the burdens of racial discrimination, these pioneers of change fought for justice and freedom, defied a sitting United States president, and educated generations of children. Hear the stories and celebrate the resilience, versatility, and courage revealed in our shared seacoast his/herstory!
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Prince Whipple and the 1779 Petition
Sankofa Tour Guide: Stanford Cross
Experience a unique journey into history on our Living History Tour. Get an intimate understanding of Prince Whipple, the brave men who stood with him in signing the Petition of Freedom, his personal insights into the debates for Independence, and his service in the NH militia. The tour takes you to significant sites of his life after freedom, including his family home and the First Ladies African Charitable School established by his wife Dinah. Discover the lesser-known side of Prince Whipple as an influential event manager.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Black Family Life: Building Community in Bondage and in Freedom
Join Daniel Comly for a moving walking tour that reveals the deeply human stories of love,
family, and resilience in early Portsmouth.
Guided through careful research and a commitment to sharing histories beyond his own
lived experience, Daniel brings forward the voices and lives of Black families who, in a time
marked by enslavement, separation, and uncertainty, formed relationships, married, raised
children, and built strong communities.
As you walk through the streets where their lives unfolded, you’ll hear powerful, true stories
of connection and courage—stories of families who refused to be defined by the limits
placed on them and instead claimed their place, their dignity, and their future.
Through storytelling and conversation, this tour invites you to reflect on what it means to
build a home, sustain love, and fight to belong.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Thirst for Freedom: From NH's Slave Trade to Its Civil Rights Movement
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Nur Shoop
Colonial Portsmouth newspapers testify to local involvement in the slave trade, runaway freedom-seekers, 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 locally in newspaper reports of the struggles to end de facto segregation in housing, employment, and public places. This tour includes many of those historic landmarks from the early seventeenth through the twentieth centuries.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Black Family Life: Building Community in Bondage and in Freedom
Join Daniel Comly for a moving walking tour that reveals the deeply human stories of love,
family, and resilience in early Portsmouth.
Guided through careful research and a commitment to sharing histories beyond his own
lived experience, Daniel brings forward the voices and lives of Black families who, in a time
marked by enslavement, separation, and uncertainty, formed relationships, married, raised
children, and built strong communities.
As you walk through the streets where their lives unfolded, you’ll hear powerful, true stories
of connection and courage—stories of families who refused to be defined by the limits
placed on them and instead claimed their place, their dignity, and their future.
Through storytelling and conversation, this tour invites you to reflect on what it means to
build a home, sustain love, and fight to belong.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Lives Bound Together: The Washingtons & Ona Marie Judge in NH
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Sonya Arroyo
During President George Washington’s final months in office, a woman named Ona Marie Judge was enslaved in the household of the First Family. In the spring of 1775, she sought her freedom, escaping from the Washingtons' executive mansion in Philadelphia with the aid of that city’s free Black community and making her way to Portsmouth. On this tour, you will hear the true story of Judge’s quest for freedom and the President’s relentless efforts to get her back. See the waterfront where she lands and visit the properties of some of America’s most famous families: the Langdons, Whipples, and Lears, whose stories were also bound to hers.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Ain't She A Woman: Let Me Tell You Her Story
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Lionel Loveless
Can you imagine the hustle and bustle of a prosperous colonial seaport town? This interactive tour invites you to discover the world of past and present Portsmouth from the perspective of African-born and next generations of African American women. Learn how, in spite of enslavement and the burdens of racial discrimination, these pioneers of change fought for justice and freedom, defied a sitting United States president, and educated generations of children. Hear the stories and celebrate the resilience, versatility, and courage revealed in our shared seacoast his/herstory!
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Prince Whipple and the 1779 Petition
Sankofa Tour Guide: Stanford Cross
Experience a unique journey into history on our Living History Tour. Get an intimate understanding of Prince Whipple, the brave men who stood with him in signing the Petition of Freedom, his personal insights into the debates for Independence, and his service in the NH militia. The tour takes you to significant sites of his life after freedom, including his family home and the First Ladies African Charitable School established by his wife Dinah. Discover the lesser-known side of Prince Whipple as an influential event manager.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Black Family Life: Building Community in Bondage and in Freedom
Join Daniel Comly for a moving walking tour that reveals the deeply human stories of love,
family, and resilience in early Portsmouth.
Guided through careful research and a commitment to sharing histories beyond his own
lived experience, Daniel brings forward the voices and lives of Black families who, in a time
marked by enslavement, separation, and uncertainty, formed relationships, married, raised
children, and built strong communities.
As you walk through the streets where their lives unfolded, you’ll hear powerful, true stories
of connection and courage—stories of families who refused to be defined by the limits
placed on them and instead claimed their place, their dignity, and their future.
Through storytelling and conversation, this tour invites you to reflect on what it means to
build a home, sustain love, and fight to belong.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Lives Bound Together: The Washingtons & Ona Marie Judge in NH
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Sonya Arroyo
During President George Washington’s final months in office, a woman named Ona Marie Judge was enslaved in the household of the First Family. In the spring of 1775, she sought her freedom, escaping from the Washingtons' executive mansion in Philadelphia with the aid of that city’s free Black community and making her way to Portsmouth. On this tour, you will hear the true story of Judge’s quest for freedom and the President’s relentless efforts to get her back. See the waterfront where she lands and visit the properties of some of America’s most famous families: the Langdons, Whipples, and Lears, whose stories were also bound to hers.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Thirst for Freedom: From NH's Slave Trade to Its Civil Rights Movement
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Nur Shoop
Colonial Portsmouth newspapers testify to local involvement in the slave trade, runaway freedom-seekers, 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 locally in newspaper reports of the struggles to end de facto segregation in housing, employment, and public places. This tour includes many of those historic landmarks from the early seventeenth through the twentieth centuries.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Lives Bound Together: The Washingtons & Ona Marie Judge in NH
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Sonya Arroyo
During President George Washington’s final months in office, a woman named Ona Marie Judge was enslaved in the household of the First Family. In the spring of 1775, she sought her freedom, escaping from the Washingtons' executive mansion in Philadelphia with the aid of that city’s free Black community and making her way to Portsmouth. On this tour, you will hear the true story of Judge’s quest for freedom and the President’s relentless efforts to get her back. See the waterfront where she lands and visit the properties of some of America’s most famous families: the Langdons, Whipples, and Lears, whose stories were also bound to hers.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Prince Whipple and the 1779 Petition
Sankofa Tour Guide: Stanford Cross
Experience a unique journey into history on our Living History Tour. Get an intimate understanding of Prince Whipple, the brave men who stood with him in signing the Petition of Freedom, his personal insights into the debates for Independence, and his service in the NH militia. The tour takes you to significant sites of his life after freedom, including his family home and the First Ladies African Charitable School established by his wife Dinah. Discover the lesser-known side of Prince Whipple as an influential event manager.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Ain't She A Woman: Let Me Tell You Her Story
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Lionel Loveless
Can you imagine the hustle and bustle of a prosperous colonial seaport town? This interactive tour invites you to discover the world of past and present Portsmouth from the perspective of African-born and next generations of African American women. Learn how, in spite of enslavement and the burdens of racial discrimination, these pioneers of change fought for justice and freedom, defied a sitting United States president, and educated generations of children. Hear the stories and celebrate the resilience, versatility, and courage revealed in our shared seacoast his/herstory!
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Thirst for Freedom: From NH's Slave Trade to Its Civil Rights Movement
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Nur Shoop
Colonial Portsmouth newspapers testify to local involvement in the slave trade, runaway freedom-seekers, 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 locally in newspaper reports of the struggles to end de facto segregation in housing, employment, and public places. This tour includes many of those historic landmarks from the early seventeenth through the twentieth centuries.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
War and Belonging: Black Soldiers of Portsmouth
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Bob Sheppard
Join Sankofa Scholar Bob Shepard, son of a Tuskegee Airman, for a powerful new walking
tour exploring the legacy of Black military service from the Revolutionary War to the
Vietnam War era.
Walk the streets of Portsmouth as you uncover the story of Prince Whipple, who fought for
freedom during the American Revolution; hear about the imprisonment of Harvey and
Daniels at the Navy Yard during the Vietnam War; and learn about Rosary Cooper’s vital
contributions on the home front during World War II.
Led by a guide with a personal legacy of military service, this story-driven tour invites you to
reflect on the meaning of service, sacrifice, and belonging.
Be among the first to experience this new tour—reserve your spot today.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Meet Jack Stains, a “Black Jack” in Historic Old Portsmouth
** 2026 Tour Date To Be Scheduled ***
Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: TBD
Seafaring was one of the most significant occupations among both enslaved and free Black
men between 1740 and 1865, when Black mariners sailed on whalers, warships, and
privateers. Some were enslaved and forced to work at sea, but by 1800, most seamen were
free, legally or by self-emancipation, to seek adventure and economic opportunity aboard
ship. On this tour, you will meet Jack Staines, husband to Ona Judge Staines, who was
enslaved by the President and Martha Washington, and experience Portsmouth through the
life of one of its Black mariners.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Port of Entry: Boys and Girls for Sale
Step onto the historic streets of Portsmouth and confront a past often left untold.
— Through the voices of young people, bringing it to life today.
Led by our high school Sankofa Scholars, this powerful walking tour centers the lives of enslaved children—boys and girls whose youth did not protect them from being bought, sold, and forced into labor. As you visit the waterfront, wharves, and auction sites connected to the Atlantic Slave Trade, you’ll hear stories that reveal just how young many were when their lives were defined by exploitation—traded for "cash or good lumber," and made to serve in homes, on docks, and at sea.
What makes this experience especially moving is who is telling the story. Our youth guides bring forward the stories of children from the past, creating a powerful connection across generations and inviting deeper reflection on freedom, humanity, and responsibility.
This is not just a history lesson—it is a shared moment of truth-telling, led by the next
generation.
Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.
Sorry!
No items currently match your filtering criteria.
Tour Guides
A Quest to Thrive: Economics of Slavery & Portsmouth's Early Black Community; Black Soldiers and the American Revolution
On Saturday Night We Were Husband and Wife: The Black Family
Exploring Dover's Black History
Volunteer, Warner Historical Society
Thirst for Freedom: From NH's Slave Trade to its Civil Rights Movement; Portsmouth Greenbook Tour
Researcher, Merrimack County
Port of Entry: Boys and Girls for Sale
Prince Whipple and the 1779 Petition
Ain't She a Woman: Let Me Tell You Her Story
Preserve Black History in New Hampshire