Plaque marking Old State House

Market Square, Portsmouth

Before the American Revolution John Wentworth, the last British governor, began building what became New Hampshire’s first statehouse. It stood in the middle of Market Square between the North Church and the Athenaeum. George Washington was honored on its steps and the Declaration of Independence was read from the statehouse balcony. In the 1830s it was broken up and taken away. A portion of the original building was later discovered on Court Street nearby and moved to Strawbery Banke Museum. When plans to restore the building faltered in the 1970s, the timbers were disassembled and moved to Concord, NH where they remain in a trailer.

Photo 99a, July 2012