I’m not familiar with New Hampshire and have not heard many people speak about it – unlike other states in the Northeast. For that reason, I made the city of Portsmouth a pit stop on our trip. The plan was to eat a quick breakfast, walk downtown a little bit and then be on our way.
When we arrived, we ate downtown at La Maison Navarre and had the best crepes, and I immediately wished I had ordered more. The long line that formed after we sat down to eat proved that others felt the same as I did about their food. We then walked around more of the charming downtown area and found LIT Boutique, where we ended up buying cute summer dresses. The employees were very kind and gave us suggestions on what to do for our pit stop in Portsmouth.
After leaving the downtown area, we walked over to the Strawbery Banke Museum, an outdoor living history museum. There were walking tours inside and outside of the historic homes. There were also costumed roleplayers that were a little entertaining. You could ask them questions about the time they were representing, and they would answer like you would assume someone from that time would.
After leaving the museum, we walked towards the river to Prescott Park to explore and enjoy the sunny day. While walking around Prescott park, I noticed a plaque in the grass and decided to take a quick look. It turned out to be a plaque or marker to signify a stop for the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail. As I looked out at the water, I realized that this must be one of the areas where they brought the slaves in by ship.
I was surprised to find black history ingrained into the city and not hidden or forgotten. I found one marker for the Black Heritage Trail in Prescott Park, so there must be more throughout the city. I wished I had known about the trail so I could have seen more of the markers and had more time to spend in Portsmouth before we had to drive to our next destination.
As we drove out of the city, I noticed gold and metallic figures standing around in a half-circle. I noted the address, looked it up, and discovered that what I saw was the African Burying Ground Memorial. It was a burial ground of African descendants that was forgotten and paved over. It was rediscovered and turned into the memorial that stands today to honor the lives lost and those buried there.
New Hampshire surprised me. The food was better than expected, and the history lessons found throughout the city made me feel the need to return.