Strawbery Banke is an outdoor museum preserving the history of what is now Portsmouth. Strawbery Banke was settled in 1630 and was named after the wild strawvberries growing nearby. It is the oldest European settlement in New Hampshire. Most buildings are in their original locations and have been restored to provide a picture of the neighborhood during its long history, including World War II.
We took an afternoon cruise of the Isles of Shoals. They are a group of islands, six miles from shore, that have provided a primitive survival for some very independent settlers. There are still some private homes, a facility staffed by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire, and a conference center operated by the Unitarian and United Church of Christ churches. A very interesting past goes along with many of the islands including murder and rabid independence from authority.
Childe Hassam, the impressionist painter who did the paintings of Boston Common and Beacon Hill that we saw in Boston, as well as Nathaniel Hawthorne were two of the frequent visitors to the islands.
