603-431-2538 research@portsmouthathenaeum.org
  • Athenaeum News
  • Resources
  • Past Events
  • Newsletter
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • About Us
  • Events
  • Exhibits
  • Membership
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
  • Collections
    • Library
    • Art and Artifacts
    • Manuscripts
    • Photographs
  • Social Feed
  • Search Catalog
Select Page

Tales from the Stacks: A Swift Deaccession

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Jun 25, 2020 | Announcements, Library, Manuscripts

In the midst of re-numbering the entire library catalog, Librarian Robin Silva has uncovered some interesting history. In October 1907, a book had been discovered in the Athenaeum’s stock room, left there anonymously. Published in 1905, the book was The...

Researching Black History in the North Church

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Jun 16, 2020 | Announcements, Manuscripts

By Archivist Susan Kindstedt   No collection at the Athenaeum provides the names of more individuals of African descent living in Portsmouth than the MS036 North Church Papers, 1640-1970 collection. Although the papers include the names of individuals, the...

Logbooks of Capt. Nathan Parker Simes

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Apr 16, 2020 | Announcements, Manuscripts

By Susan Stowe-Kindstedt, Athenaeum Archivist The Athenaeum recently received a generous donation from a descendant of nineteenth-century Portsmouth sea captain Nathan Parker Simes. Simes was born in Portsmouth on August 1, 1833, the son of Ann (Yeaton) and Stephen...

FROM THE VAULT: New Kimball Bragdon Collection

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Aug 15, 2018 | Announcements, Manuscripts

The Kimball Family. (l to r) Seated are Clara (1817-1893), Israel (1812-1890) and Helen (1860-1909). Standing are Israel Jr. (1855-1886), Sarah (1841-1918), George (1843-1923), Clara (1846-1931) and Mary (1848-1929). Photo by Davis Brothers of Portsmouth, NH, c. 1863....

The Athenaeum Featured on NHPR

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Aug 31, 2017 | Announcements, Manuscripts

In 2016, Roland Goodbody, contract archivist at the Portsmouth Athenaeum, cataloged the NH-Maine border dispute papers of Harrison “Workie” Workman (1919-2007), a Portsmouth resident and lobsterman.  MS120 Harrison Workman Border Dispute Papers,...
Next Entries »

Recent News

  • July 2026: The Red Light District
  • Exhibit Shines the Red Light on City’s Past
  • Portsmouth Athenæum Chamber Music 2026
  • Athenæum Interim Director
  • A Letter from Tom Hardiman, Keeper and Executive Director

Events Calendar

Today
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
27
28
29
30
1
2
5:00 PM - Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "The Lunch Hour: Portsmouth"
3
1:00 PM - 1805 Building Tour
4
5
6
7
5:30 PM - Franklin Club
8
9
10
1:00 PM - 1805 Building Tour
11
12
13
14
15
16
5:30 PM - 2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Offshore Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism"
17
18
3:00 PM - ArtsAthenaeum 2025 Poetry Reading with Oliver de la Paz
19
20
21
5:30 PM - 2025 Lecture Series: “A Goodly Place: The Construction and Character of the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion” offered by John Rule and Adi Rule
22
5:30 PM - Lawfare in the age of Lincoln: From the battlefield to the court room, Fitz John Porter's long winter of injustice
23
5:30 PM - 2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Tracing Homelands: Israel, Palestine and the Claims of Belonging"
24
25
26
27
28
29
5:00 PM - Memorial Concert with Organist Geoffrey Wieting
30
31
Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "The Lunch Hour: Portsmouth"
Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "The Lunch Hour: Portsmouth"
May 2, 2025    
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Art Round Town
  • Exhibit Events
Art 'Round Town, Exhibits, Randall Gallery, The Lunch Hour: Portsmouth
Please join us during Art 'Round Town and see our latest exhibit, “The Lunch Hour: Portsmouth," curated by Proprietor Judy Groppa in the Randall Gallery. [...]
More Info
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
May 3, 2025    
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Building Tours
Building Tours, Library Room, Membership Libraries, Sawtelle Reading Room
Join us for a tour of our Sawtelle Reading Room and the historic Library Room. Tours are at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. [...]
More Info
Franklin Club
Franklin Club
May 7, 2025    
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Franklin Club
Franklin Club, Sawtelle Reading Room
The Junto, also known as the Leather Apron Club, was a club for mutual improvement established in 1727 by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. The Leather [...]
More Info
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
May 10, 2025    
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Building Tours
Building Tours, Library Room, Membership Libraries, Sawtelle Reading Room
Join us for a tour of our Sawtelle Reading Room and the historic Library Room. Tours are at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. [...]
More Info
2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Offshore Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism"
2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Offshore Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism"
May 16, 2025    
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Current Event Series
  • Discussions
2025 Current Event Series, Brooke Harrington, Finance, Shaw Research Library, World Affairs Council
In collaboration with the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, the Portsmouth Athenaeum Current Events Lecture Series presents the "Offshore Stealth Wealth and the New [...]
More Info
ArtsAthenaeum 2025 Poetry Reading with Oliver de la Paz
ArtsAthenaeum 2025 Poetry Reading with Oliver de la Paz
May 18, 2025    
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • ArtsAthenaeum Performance Series
  • Performance & Concert Series
ArtsAthenaeum Performance Series 2025, Concerts, Poetry Readings, Shaw Research Library
The Portsmouth Athenaeum is delighted to welcome Oliver de la Paz, celebrated poet and educator, for a special reading on Sunday, May 18, at 3:00 [...]
More Info
2025 Lecture Series: “A Goodly Place: The Construction and Character of the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion” offered by John Rule and Adi Rule
2025 Lecture Series: “A Goodly Place: The Construction and Character of the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion” offered by John Rule and Adi Rule
May 21, 2025    
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Discussions
  • Lecture Series
2025 Lecture Series: Beauty on the Seacoast and Beyond, Adi Rule, Architecture and Gardens, Art Architecture and Gardens, John Rule, Shaw Research Library, Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion
NOTE: THIS PROGRAM IS NEARLY FULL. Overlooking the Piscataqua River’s back channel at Little Harbor sits one of Portsmouth’s hidden gems, the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion. Home [...]
More Info
Lawfare in the age of Lincoln: From the battlefield to the court room, Fitz John Porter's long winter of injustice
Lawfare in the age of Lincoln: From the battlefield to the court room, Fitz John Porter's long winter of injustice
May 22, 2025    
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Book Talks
  • Discussions
Book Talks
A talk with esteemed historian William Marvel, author of Radical Sacrifice, The Rise and Ruin of Fitz John Porter. The program will be on the [...]
More Info
2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Tracing Homelands: Israel, Palestine and the Claims of Belonging"
2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Tracing Homelands: Israel, Palestine and the Claims of Belonging"
May 23, 2025    
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Current Event Series
  • Discussions
2025 Current Event Series, Israel, Linda Dittmar, Palestine, Shaw Research Library
NOTE: This event was originally scheduled for Thursday, April 24, and it is now rescheduled for Friday, May 23. It is also now FREE for [...]
More Info
Memorial Concert with Organist Geoffrey Wieting
Memorial Concert with Organist Geoffrey Wieting
May 29, 2025    
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
St. John's Episcopal Church
  • Members Events
  • Performance & Concert Series
Concerts, Geoffrey Wieting, Memorial Concert, Proprietors, St. John's Church
Join us on Thursday, May 29, at 5:00 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth for the annual Memorial Concert, featuring renowned organist Geoffrey [...]
More Info
Events on May 2, 2025
Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "The Lunch Hour: Portsmouth"
Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "The Lunch Hour: Portsmouth"
2 May 25
Portsmouth
Events on May 3, 2025
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
3 May 25
Portsmouth
Events on May 7, 2025
Franklin Club
Franklin Club
7 May 25
Portsmouth
Events on May 10, 2025
1805 Building Tour
1805 Building Tour
10 May 25
Portsmouth
Events on May 16, 2025
2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Offshore Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism"
2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Offshore Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism"
16 May 25
Portsmouth
Events on May 18, 2025
ArtsAthenaeum 2025 Poetry Reading with Oliver de la Paz
ArtsAthenaeum 2025 Poetry Reading with Oliver de la Paz
18 May 25
Portsmouth
Events on May 21, 2025
2025 Lecture Series: “A Goodly Place: The Construction and Character of the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion” offered by John Rule and Adi Rule
2025 Lecture Series: “A Goodly Place: The Construction and Character of the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion” offered by John Rule and Adi Rule
21 May 25
Portsmouth
Events on May 22, 2025
Lawfare in the age of Lincoln: From the battlefield to the court room, Fitz John Porter's long winter of injustice
Lawfare in the age of Lincoln: From the battlefield to the court room, Fitz John Porter's long winter of injustice
22 May 25
Portsmouth
Events on May 23, 2025
2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Tracing Homelands: Israel, Palestine and the Claims of Belonging"
2025 Current Events Lecture Series: "Tracing Homelands: Israel, Palestine and the Claims of Belonging"
23 May 25
Portsmouth
Events on May 29, 2025
Memorial Concert with Organist Geoffrey Wieting
Memorial Concert with Organist Geoffrey Wieting
29 May 25
Portsmouth

Search Website

E-News Signup
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

HOURS

Shaw Research Library
Tuesdays – Saturdays
1 to 4 p.m.
and by appointment

 

Randall Gallery
Tuesdays – Saturdays
1 to 4 p.m.
Latest Exhibit

 

Sawtelle Reading Room

Some Saturdays
1 to 4 p.m.
Calendar of Events
(volunteer-dependent)

SUPPORT US

The Athenæum today continues a long tradition of mutual improvement by maintaining a library of over 40,000 volumes and an archive of materials relating to local history. The Athenæum also sponsors exhibitions, concerts, lectures, and other educational and cultural programs.

 




FIND US

Located at 6-9 Market Square, Portsmouth, NH.
(603) 431-2538

 

Public entrance shared with Ireland on the Square. Research Library and Gallery located on third floor.  Please call ahead for elevator access.

 

MAILING ADDRESS:
Portsmouth Athenaeum
P.O. Box 366
Portsmouth, NH 03802
Contact Us

© 2005- Portsmouth Athenaeum. All Rights Reserved.