Museum Closed and Happy New Year!
2022 has come to an end and so has our tour season. We have enjoyed giving tours and meeting all of our guests from all over the world.
We will reopen April 1st with our Photo Exhibit titled "Picture This!", a photographic journey through Portsmouth's Past.
Continue to watch our FB and webpage for more information.
Happy New Year!
Holiday Homes tour
On Saturday the Hill House Museum participated in the OTPCL Holiday Homes tour. Many visitors stopped by the museum to see the festive decorations. We want to thank the OTPCL for allowing us the opportunity to partner with them, it was a great holiday event.
Happy Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving upon us we are featuring a few of the objects in the Hill House Museum relating to food and entertaining for this important day.
The kitchen being the main artery for this holiday, it was necessary to have a reliable cooking source. In the museum’s kitchen you can see the evolution of cooking from the fireplace to the cast-iron stove then to the electric range.
Next, we step into the dining room. In the background is the sideboard where the food would have been placed and served from. The table is set and ready for the Thanksgiving feast prepared just a few rooms away. One of the many pieces of Hill family china is this beautiful turkey platter.
One can only imagine how many Thanksgiving meals were prepared and eaten throughout the many decades when the Hill family occupied the house.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE FROM THE HILL HOUSE MUSEUM.
Night at the Museum
A “Spooktacular” night was had at the Hill House Night at the Museum event. Visitors had a haunting tour of the museum, chatted with Queen Victoria’s ghost, and became very familiar with Victorian mourning customs. If you were unable to make the event, the museum will be open today for tours noon-3:00.
Night at the Museum Event
Click on the link and learn about the Hill House Museum....
Click on the link and watch the episode dedicated to Portsmouth's fun things to do around town, including the Hill House Museum.
Coast Live Features The Hill House Museum
On Monday at 9 a.m. Coast Live (channel 3) will feature an hour-long show on Portsmouth, and the Hill House Museum will be one of many featured on the show. At 10 a.m., they will broadcast the Portsmouth Memorial Day Parade in its entirety without commercial interruption. Please check out the attached video and tune in on Memorial Day.
Looking for Portsmouth Photos or Memorabilia
Looking for Portsmouth history collectors who have historical photos or memorabilia of Downtown, Olde Towne, Newtown, and Lincolnsville.
The Portsmouth Historical Association (Hill House Museum) is putting together a photo exhibit showcasing these areas as they transformed through history. Do you have photos or memorabilia to loan or make copies of for our Fall 2022 exhibit? If you do, please email us or call.
Email: info@thehillhousemusuem.org
Call: 757-714-3226
Happy Founder’s Day Portsmouth!!!
Portsmouth was founded as a town February 27th in 1752, on 65 acres of land on the shores of the Elizabeth River.
The Town of Portsmouth was established by the act of the General Assembly and named for Portsmouth, England, by its founder - Col. William Crawford - who dedicated the four corners of High and Court Streets for a church, a market, a courthouse, and a jail. Attached are photos of the four-corners Col. Crawford laid out at Court and High Streets.
Can you identify the buildings at the four-corners, some of which still exist, and others long gone? One thing to point out all pictures have dirt roads. (Photos circa 1890-1910)
