Local Interest: Book Reviews
400 Years on the Banke
Dennis Robinson tells this history of the Strawbery Banke area

Strawbery Banke: A Seaport Museum 400 Years in the Making By J. Dennis Robinson. $35.00
Published by Peter E. Randall Publisher LLC
Available at RiverRun Bookstore - 603-431-2100
Tom Holbrook
Portrait by Joseph St. Pierre
There are not many places in America where you can trace our heritage back 400 years, but in 1958 a dedicated group of forward-thinking citizens realized that Portsmouth, N. H., was one of the few places where our colonial history was still alive. The founding of the Strawbery Banke Museum helped preserve this history and create a refuge from the urban re-development that cost Portsmouth and countless other New England towns a connection with history that is now gone forever.

Over the years the museum has seen many changes, but throughout it all it has remained a place where the essence of what we call New England has been be preserved. It sits in the area of Portsmouth that was known as Puddle Dock, which also happens to be the oldest part of the city. In addition to being a repository for artifacts and buildings of our past, it is also an important archaeological site as well.

In the first half of his new book, Strawbery Banke: A History 400 Years in the Making, Dennis Robinson tells this history of the Strawbery Banke area, and in the other, the history of the museum itself—both are fascinating, and if you think you know all about Portsmouth you are in for a surprise. The book is full of vintage photographs. I particularly loved the ones depicting the construction of Memorial Bridge, and it’s also great to see old photos of Puddle Dock back when it was an actual body of water. Robinson’s narrative style keeps the reader moving briskly forward, and he has a great understanding of social forces and how they affect a community over time. This keeps the book from being a litany of facts and turns it into a compelling read for those who enjoy American history.

What Robinson does particularly well is show that while the buildings, contents, and exhibits of the museum preserve the history of the 17th, 18th, nd 19th centuries, the history of the museum itself is an insightful look at the many changes that have shaped Portsmouth over the last hundred years.  The city is now a thriving tourist destination and still a working port, but Portsmouth has had its ups and downs. I think in some ways the Museum was always there gently insisting that our history, more than our shipyard or our military base, was perhaps our greatest resource.

I mentioned the book was beautifully designed, and the highlight is the center photo section that includes eight pages of contemporary color photos by Ralph Morang, which should inspire anyone to visit the museum and take part in the Christmas Candlelight Stroll.

I would have loved this book no matter what because I’ve been waiting so long for a good book on this subject. It is therefore the icing on the cake that the finished book is so handsome, and so complete. At nearly four hundred pages it is much more than a coffee table decoration—it should be required reading for Seacoast citizens and those who want a detailed view of a New England village and its changes and challenges through four centuries.