Though it still serves Portsmouth well today, the Portsmouth Branch of the former Boston & Maine Railroad once connected the Seacoast to Manchester and points beyond. The photography of Richard B. Sanborn and others will illustrate the importance of this link to not only Portsmouth, but also other communities such as Raymond, Epping, and Candia. The 1982 demise of the line between Manchester and Newfields, New Hampshire will be covered as will the modern importance of the remaining trackage.

In conjunction with our lobby exhibit of Louis de Rochemont historic items related to The Whistle at Eaton Falls, the library will screen the locally filmed movie Lost Boundaries. The movie was first released in 1949 and included extras from the Seacoast area.

Join us for some free summer fun at  The New England BIPOC Festival at Strawbery Banke! 

Presented by the library’s Special Collections staff and members of the Ranger Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), these events are free, open to the public, and appropriate for all levels of interest and experience. All levels will learn something new!

It's time to get ready for the Lantern Festival!

The Portsmouth Public Library is proud to partner with the Alliance for Greater Good again this year for a fun, all ages lantern decorating event!  Join us to decorate your own lantern to float at the Portsmouth Lantern Festival on September 28! The Lantern Festival is a family-friendly fundraiser celebrating community kindness. 

Abenaki history has been reduced to near-invisibility as a result of conquest, a conquering culture that placed little value on the Indian experience, and a strategy of self-preservation that required many Abenaki to go "underground," concealing their true identities for generations to avoid discrimination and persecution.

You want to run a game of Dungeons & Dragons, but it seems ... daunting? Learn how with the Super Simple Startup Dungeon Master program. We'll learn a little improv, a little organization, some rules of play, and about some other tools of the trade. We'll learn how to run a game effectively, and without encyclopedic knowledge of Dungeons & Dragons!

Gundalows played an important part in Portsmouth's heritage. Gundalows were used until the late 1800s as the delivery trucks and tractor trailers of history, transporting cargo and passengers to the towns around the Seacoast. With a flat bottom and wide beam, gundalows were not as glamorous as the fancier schooners and clippers, but they could travel over the mud flats that were dangerous to the deep-water sailing ships.

A Midsummer Night's Dream.
1999. PG-13. 116 Minutes.

The Whistle at Eaton Falls, produced by Seacoast film legend Louis de Rochemont in 1951 and recently restored on DVD, was awarded the Willy Haas-Preis Award for Best Film on Blue Ray/DVD at the International Film History Conference in Hamburg, Germany in 2023. Filmed in Exeter, Portsmouth, and Newmarket, New Hampshire, The Whistle features Dorothy Gish, Ernest Borgnine, and a very young Lloyd Bridges in the starring role.