New Castle Loop

South Cemetery, logically located along South Street, is one of the oldest in Portsmouth, set aside for use in 1671, but not actually used as a cemetery until 1830. It’s a privately maintained cemetery, made up of five different burying grounds: Auburn Cemetery, Cotton’s Cemetery, Harmony Grove Cemetery, Proprietors’ Burying Ground and Sagamore Cemetery.

Wandering through the pleasant pathways amidst mature oaks and maples is a walk through history, with grave markers providing glimpses into the lives and dramas of notable figures from the city’s past. It’s the final resting place of Frank Jones (1832-1902), one time mayor of Portsmouth and successful brewer who rebuilt the Rockingham Hotel. His is the tallest tombstone, easily found in Harmony Grove.

Also here in eternal rest is Henry Clay Barnabee, who sang and acted his way through a string of successful comic operettas in the late 19th century. And let’s not forget poor Karen and Anethe Christiansen, the sisters who were murdered on Smuttynose Island in 1873.

While the burying grounds were not technically used as such until 1830, there was one person buried there in 1768 in what is now the Proprietor’s Burying Ground. As that year closed out, a gallows stood on the most elevated portion of the northwest corner. Ruth Blay was brought via cart and, before a crowd of hundreds with many shouting for her reprieve, she was hung for the crime of hiding her illegitimate stillborn baby. She was buried near the pond in an unmarked grave. It was the last execution in New Hampshire.

Little Harbor Chapel is a Georgian Revival UN-denominational seasonal Chapel established in 1902. Inside the chapel is a one-of-a-kind Hutchings-Votey pipe organ, no longer in use, but slated for restoration.

Opening the season of worship for the summer people is a tradition in July, and it hosts Sunday services throughout the summer by visiting clergy. It is also available for summer weddings, baptisms, memorials and cultural events.

The Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion is an 18th-century 40-room house and farm, the only original surviving residence of a Royal Governor in the United States. That venerable gentleman would be New Hampshire’s first Royal Governor, Benning Wentworth, who moved the seat of government and his extended household to this site in 1753.

Subsequently owned by J. Templeman Coolidge, a Boston native, from 1856 to 1945. It was transferred to the state of New Hampshire by the Coolidge family in 1954.

Built in a variety of architectural styles due to various additions over the years, the mansion provides a fascinating look into colonial-era life of the upper class. Managed by the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation, it’s open to the public for guided tours, as well as hosting art exhibitions and other cultural events.

Wentworth by the Sea is a historic seaside resort hotel in New Castle. Built in 1874 on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, it is one of the few remaining grand dames of the Gilded Age. You don’t need to stay here (yes, it’s pricey), but you will certainly want to park and wander the spaces, inside and out. Consider having lunch al fresco at Latitudes, so you can savor the setting. This is one beautiful hotel in a seaside setting that matches its grandeur.

From its founding in 1874, it has hosted numerous celebrities and dignitaries. U.S. President Chester A. Arthur was a frequent guest when he traveled from Washington to visit the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. in 1905, the Russian and Japanese delegations met her for discussions on ending the Russo-Japanese War. Today, it’s not unusual to see a plethora of yachts docked at Wentworth’s marina.

Needless to say, the hotel offers a variety of amenities, including a spa, two pools, a fitness center, an 18-hole championship golf course, tennis courts, boating and more. With two restaurants and a pool-side bar, there’s not any particular reason to leave the resort, but of course you wouldn’t want to miss out on Portsmouth.

There are well preserved historic sites around New England. There are crumbling remains of historic sites that are also well preserved. And then there are remains that are more abandoned than preserved.

Fort Stark falls into the latter category, but in an odd sort of way. Amongst the spooky ruin of this former military fortification is a little museum with military artifacts and facts about the 22nd Coastal Artillery that was headquartered there to protect Portsmouth Harbor and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The fort was constructed early in the 20th century and was used through WWII as an active military installation. It was then used for reserve training by the US Navy before being turned over to the state of New Hampshire, which now operates it as a historic site. 

Walking in and among the weedy and graffiti-ridden buildings and batteries is both eerie and moving. It’s the kind of place that makes you pause and appreciate the many men and women who have put their lives on hold and at risk to keep us safe.