2008 Bronze Medal Award Winner! New England Museum Association
Strawbery Banke, A Seaport Museum 400 Years in the Making

by J. Dennis Robinson

At first glance it looks like a peaceful New England village—but look deeper. Strawbery Banke Museum is a core sample of an ever-changing America.

Rich with pictures and painstakingly researched, this is actually two books. The first tracks 400 years of history along the Piscataqua River with dramatic tales that will surprise even New Hampshire natives. The story then goes behind the scenes to the controversial founding of Strawbery Banke Museum in 1958. Tapping into private letters, unpublished records and personal interviews, the author explores the politics of preservation in a small blue-collar city. Always lively, this highly readable history tracks modern Portsmouth from a gritty working seaport to a cultural heritage destination, assessing what is gained and what is lost along the way.

"What a pleasure to have all your questions answered before you visit an historic property -- great fireside reading."
     -- Bob Vila, Home Improvement Specialist

"This is an important book about one of the best history museums in the country."
     -- Ken Burns

About the Author

J. Dennis Robinson is editor and owner of the popular regional Web site SeacoastNH.com. An educator, audio and video producer, lecturer, and columnist, Robinson has published over a thousand articles on local history and culture. His most recent books include juvenile biographies of outlaw Jesse James and Maryland founder Lord Baltimore, and Wentworth by the Sea: The Life and Times of a Grand Hotel. He lives in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with his wife Maryellen Burke.

About the Photographers

Richard Haynes Jr. earned a Master of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in New York. Born in the South, he is currently a noted New Hampshire painter, educator, and activist. Ralph Morang grew up in Rye, and his family has been involved with Strawbery Banke since the 1960s. He has been a freelance photographer and photojournalist in the seacoast for thirty years. Douglas Armsden photographed Strawbery Banke in its founding years. Born in 1920, he lives in Kittery Point, Maine.

Visit the author's website.
Visit Strawbery Banke's website.

ISBN 978-0-960389-62-9, $35.00 History, 416 pages with 16 pages of full color, 8x10, Cloth.

Also by J. Dennis Robinson: Wentworth by the Sea

Ordering Information

University Press of New England. Publication Date: November 2007.