2026 Portsmouth Guided Walking Tours

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Sonya Arroyo

This tour follows the extraordinary story of Ona Marie Judge, a young woman enslaved by George and Martha Washington who made the courageous decision to free herself rather than remain in bondage to America’s First Family.

In the spring of 1796, Ona left the Washingtons’ executive mansion in Philadelphia with help from the city’s free Black community. She journeyed north to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she would build a new life amid the constant threat of capture.

As you walk through Portsmouth’s historic streets, you’ll trace Ona’s path to freedom, beginning at the harbor where she arrived and continuing through the neighborhoods and homes connected to some of the nation’s most prominent families.

Along the way, you will learn about the President's relentless efforts to capture her, and explore the networks of resistance, courage, and community that helped sustain her freedom.

Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.

Sankofa Scholars & Tour Guides: Lillian Buckley and Meaghan Dunn
Town: Kittery, ME

This tour describes how Africans and their descendants, residents of a northern Atlantic port town, used their resilience and cultural traditions of mutual aid to establish one of Maine's earliest African American communities. You will hear stories about enslaved and freed people living here from colonial times and "Black Yankees" of the modern era, a history often ignored and rarely identified with the heritage of New England.

Meeting Place: Parking Lot of Lil's Cafe | 7 Wallingford Square, Downtown Kittery, ME.

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Barbara Rimkunas
Town: Exeter, NH

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 and continue to shape its future. Learn about Exeter's legacy related to Atlantic slave trading and hear stories about African Americans who helped shape the town's history.

Learning Exeter's history can contribute to a richer community dialogue about its present and future.

Meeting Place: Exeter Town Hall | 10 Front St, Exeter.

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guides: Rebecca Courser & Lynn Clark
Town: Warner, NH
Bus Tour Cost: $35

Rebecca Courser and Lynn Clark will lead a tour that explores the Black history of Warner from the Revolution through the Early Republic. We will carpool to sites where our earliest Black residents lived, attended school, worked, entertained and were buried. Join us to hear some of the lesser-known stories from the past 250 years.

Meeting Place: Warner Town Hall | 5 East Main Street, Warner, NH
** This tour will be from 1 PM to 3 PM. Please wear sturdy walking shoes. **

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Nur Shoop

Walk the streets of Portsmouth and trace the powerful connections between past and present on a journey spanning more than three centuries.

Led by Sankofa Scholar Nur Shoop, this walking tour brings historic landmarks to life—from the early 1600s to the twentieth century—revealing how local stories are deeply connected to national and global movements for freedom and justice.

Drawing on colonial newspapers and firsthand accounts, you’ll uncover Portsmouth’s role in the Atlantic slave trade, the courageous actions of runaway freedom-seekers, and the fierce debates between abolitionists and their opponents. As the story unfolds, you’ll see how these tensions carried into the Civil War and beyond.

The tour continues into the twentieth century, when the legacy of this history shaped ongoing struggles for equality, as reflected in efforts to end segregation in housing, employment, and public life right here in Portsmouth.

This is more than a look at the past; it is an opportunity to understand how history lives on in the present.

Meeting place: BHTNH Headquarters, 222 Court St, Portsmouth, NH 

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: David Nelson
Town: Milford, NH
Special Bus Tour Cost: $35

Step into the life of Harriet E. Wilson, the first known African American to publish a novel in North America—and a woman whose story challenges what we think we know about freedom in the North.

In celebration of the 250th, this special bus tour extends beyond downtown to trace Harriet’s life across the broader landscape of her early years. Visit the site of her birth, the house where she lived, and other significant locations that shaped her journey—places not accessible on a traditional walking tour.

Born free in New Hampshire, Harriet was orphaned at a young age and bound into indentured servitude, where she endured hardship and isolation as she navigated a world that denied her true independence.

Through guided storytelling and reflection, you’ll encounter the experiences that inspired her groundbreaking novel Our Nig (1859)—a bold, deeply personal work revealing how the shadows of slavery extended far beyond the South.

You’ll also learn about Harriet’s life after publication—her struggle to survive as a widow, the heartbreaking loss of her son George, and her later work as a Spiritualist and public speaker, during which she shared her story on her own terms.

This is more than a literary history—it is a journey through place and time, tracing a life of resilience, voice, and truth-telling.

Meeting Place: The Oval in Milford, NH.

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Sonya Arroyo

This tour follows the extraordinary story of Ona Marie Judge, a young woman enslaved by George and Martha Washington who made the courageous decision to free herself rather than remain in bondage to America’s First Family.

In the spring of 1796, Ona left the Washingtons’ executive mansion in Philadelphia with help from the city’s free Black community. She journeyed north to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she would build a new life amid the constant threat of capture.

As you walk through Portsmouth’s historic streets, you’ll trace Ona’s path to freedom, beginning at the harbor where she arrived and continuing through the neighborhoods and homes connected to some of the nation’s most prominent families.

Along the way, you will learn about the President's relentless efforts to capture her, and explore the networks of resistance, courage, and community that helped sustain her freedom.

Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.

Sankofa Tour Guide: Stanford Cross

What did freedom mean to those who were denied it at the very moment a nation declared its independence?

This powerful walking tour brings to life the story of Prince Whipple—an enslaved African who became one of Portsmouth’s most influential Black leaders.

Through immersive storytelling, you’ll hear about Prince’s role in the fight for freedom, from the bold signing of the 1779 Petition of Freedom to his service in the New Hampshire militia during the Revolutionary War. Along the way, you’ll gain insight into the contradictions of a nation debating liberty even as slavery remained deeply woven into daily life.

As the tour moves through Portsmouth’s historic streets, you’ll visit his family home and the Ladies African Charitable Society School, founded by his wife Dinah to educate Black children and strengthen the community.

You will also discover a lesser-known side of Prince Whipple as a respected organizer and event manager whose influence extended into Portsmouth's social and civic life.

Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Valerie Fagin

Can you imagine the hustle and bustle of a prosperous colonial seaport town?

Step into that world on this engaging walking tour that centers on the lives of African-born and African American women who shaped Portsmouth across generations.

Through powerful storytelling, you’ll encounter women who, despite enslavement and systemic racism, fought for justice, defied a sitting U.S. president, and educated generations of children—leaving a lasting mark on this community.

Walk the streets where their lives unfolded, hear their stories, and celebrate the resilience, courage, and determination revealed in our shared seacoast his/herstory.

Join the tour and experience the stories of women who helped shape Portsmouth

Meeting Place: BHTNH Headquarters | 222 Court Street, Portsmouth, NH.

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Nur Shoop

Walk the streets of Portsmouth and trace the powerful connections between past and present on a journey spanning more than three centuries.

Led by Sankofa Scholar Nur Shoop, this walking tour brings historic landmarks to life—from the early 1600s to the twentieth century—revealing how local stories are deeply connected to national and global movements for freedom and justice.

Drawing on colonial newspapers and firsthand accounts, you’ll uncover Portsmouth’s role in the Atlantic slave trade, the courageous actions of runaway freedom-seekers, and the fierce debates between abolitionists and their opponents. As the story unfolds, you’ll see how these tensions carried into the Civil War and beyond.

The tour continues into the twentieth century, when the legacy of this history shaped ongoing struggles for equality, as reflected in efforts to end segregation in housing, employment, and public life right here in Portsmouth.

This is more than a look at the past; it is an opportunity to understand how history lives on in the present.

Meeting place: BHTNH Headquarters, 222 Court St, Portsmouth, NH 

Sankofa Scholar & Tour Guide: Bob Sheppard

Join Sankofa Scholar Bob Sheppard, 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 St, Portsmouth, NH