What’s Been Going On?

The Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse, Parsonage, and Cemetery (also known as Portsmouth Friends Meeting House or Portsmouth Evangelical Friends Church) is a historic Friends Meeting House and cemetery of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).  The current meetinghouse was built around 1699–1700. The building was used as a Quaker house of worship and school. During the […]

In the late 19th century a number of “Gentleman’s Farms” were created in South Portsmouth including Glen Farm, Sandy Point Farm, Oakland Farm, and others.             These were extensive farms of 150 acres or more. That area of town was the center of the town’s agrarian life. The owners were mostly from New York City,

On Halloween (October 31st 2021) Take Two Tandem Tellers hosted families in costumes! The Portsmouth Community Theater and The Portsmouth Historical Society presented a family friendly program of seasonal stories and songs. The Take Two Tandem Tellers Cindy Killavey and Anne Marie Forer shared “not too spooky” stories and songs with lots of audience participation,

A concert was given by Kevin Fennessey (of Portsmouth, RI) on October 30, 2021 at 7 PM at the Common Fence Point Community Center with proceeds going to the Society.  Kevin has a long history in Bluegrass and American Roots music. Starting at age 19 he has performed at music festivals from Maine to North

Members of the Portsmouth Historical Society were invited to an Open House by Jonathan and Erin Chapman, owners of the Glen Farm Millhouse at 120 Glen Farm Rd, Portsmouth. The couple was recently awarded the 2021 Historic Homeowner Rhody Award from Preserve Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Historical Preservation. They offered an exclusive opportunity

Lecture “Mother-Daughter Activists of the 19th/20th Centuries: Julia Ward Howe & Maud Howe Elliott” by Nancy Whipple Grinnell and Fred ZilianJulia Ward Howe is best remembered for writing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic;” however, she was much more. This talented, independent-minded woman of the 19th century was a poet, writer, playwright, preacher, lecturer, and

A tour was led by Stephen Luce at three cemeteries in Lawton Valley! First visited was the stone cellar hole. This was the home for many of those interred nearby. From there, we will walk to the oldest cemetery. It is currently unrecorded and contains several unmarked gravestones. It was discussed why they are unmarked.

“Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul” by John M. Barry. Anne Wagner served as a thought-provoking moderator for the forum.  Copies of the book are still available at the Portsmouth Free Public Library (www.portsmouthlibrary.org , 401-683-9457). Everyone who attended enjoyed this non-lecture forum with those who enjoyed reading the book.  

Glen Farm: A Gentleman’s Farm Lecture by Town Historian Jim Garman Local Historian Jim Garman gave a presentation on one of the most historically-significant “Gentlemen’s Farms” in Portsmouth’s history. In the late 19th and early 20th century a number of the prominent citizens of Newport’s Gilded Age decided to establish farms “out in the country”

The Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee is amassed volunteers to continue the removal of vegetation which currently obscures and prevents access to this Revolutionary War earthwork, the largest in southern New England.The cleanup was held on Sunday, 12 September. The area cleared contains vines (Poison Ivy), briars, bushes, and small trees. .