For a leisurely day, stroll about Strawbery Banke Museum, a spot that has changed drastically for the past 400 years. All of this rich history is captured here, from the earliest days of its founding, named after the bank of wild strawberries growing there, to the founding of the town of Portsmouth, and finally itís nineteenth century name of Puddle Dock, a rough immigrant neighborhood.

This museum comes to life

You can visit houses, and learn the history of the time from costumed actors throughout the area. Not sticking to one time period, all of Portsmouth's architectural history is included with houses from the founding time all the way to the 1950s. With such a wide array of homes in this museum, some of the houses are restored and furnished in all the time periods, others have been filled with educational exhibits, and some house artisans who demonstrate the practice of their traditional trades.

Historic garden

Gardening-lovers will marvel at all the authentic New England plantings throughout the museum. Filled with hemlock, larch, lilac, colonial raised kitchen gardens, grand Victorian Gardens, the gardens and work yards of immigrants, and up in time to a World War II Victory garden, plants tell the history as well as any other exhibit. You may appreciate such attention to detail and lose yourself to this historic past.

Winter and Summer Seasons

Summer is when the full museum is open daily, between May 1 through October 31. During the winter, November 1 to April 30, special guided walking tours are offered four times each Thursday, Friday, Saturday and twice on Sunday. You can also find many unique gifts in the Dunaway Museum Shop, open all year round.