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Native American History of New Hampshire

The HHS will sponsor a talk by David Stewart-Smith on the Native American History of New Hampshire; it will be held Tuesday, August 21 at 7:00 PM at the Ladd Street School. Admission is free and open to the public.

Stewart-Smith is historian for the New Hampshire Intertribal Council and a former professor of history and cultural studies at Vermont College of Norwich University.

Among other topics, he will discuss the Pennacook Indians of the Merrimack Valley, which were the largest and most powerful coalition of native people on the northern New England frontier during the 17th and 18th centuries. They, along with their Abenaki allies from Maine and Canada, held off Europeans for almost 90 years during a succession of “Indian Wars,” culminating in the end of the French and Indian Wars in 1761. During this time, Indians and colonists exchanged and encountered each other's cultures, religions, trade goods, and even kinship.

Stewart-Smith is himself of Scottish and Pennacook descent. “My research into New Hampshire’s Indian archaeology and history began some 30 years ago,” he notes. “My grandmother’s family history comes out of New Hampshire’s frontier and Indian heritage. I frequently meet people who are on the same path of discovering their heritage and love of history and enjoy sharing stories with them.”

Stewart-Smith’s lecture is made possible by a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council.

New Hampshire on Skis

New England Ski Museum

The Society will present a talk by E. John B. Allen on "New Hampshire on Skis" on Tuesday, July 17 at 7:00 PM. The program will be held at the Ladd Street School and will be free and open to the public.

Allen is Professor of History, Emeritus at Plymouth State University; Historian of the New England Ski Museum in Franconia; and author of several books, including From Skisport to Skiing: One Hundred Years of an American Sport 1840–1940 and The Culture and Sport of Skiing: From Antiquity to World War II. His most recent book, published last year, is Historical Dictionary of Skiing.

New England Ski Museum

Professor Allen’s illustrated lecture traces the key role that New Hampshire played in the development and popularization of skiing in America. In the 1930s, the state led the country in ski activity, inspired in part by Dartmouth College’s Outing Club and Winter Carnival. Prior to World War II, Germans and Austrians–some fleeing Nazi persecution–found the White Mountains to be suitable terrain for the downhill skiing styles of their homelands.

Innovations such as the Cannon Mountain Tram helped make the sport even more accessible, and after World War II, development of ski areas expanded greatly. Allen will trace the development of the industry from its European-inflected roots to today’s resorts that offer a variety of winter activities.

Professor Allen’s lecture is made possible by a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council.

A Disgraced Civil War General

The Haverhill Historical Society will sponsor the presentation “Hero or Coward? The Story of General Fitz John Porter” on Thursday, June 14 at 7:00 PM at the Ladd Street School. The program will be followed by a book signing.

This illustrated lecture will be presented by Dr. Kimberly Alexander and Dr. Dane Morrison. They will describe the career and controversial court martial of Civil War General Fitz John Porter (1822–1901), a native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire who was the subject of a politically-charged prosecution following the Union’s defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Porter spent the next sixteen years seeking to restore his name and reputation.
Drs. Alexander and Morrison trace Porter’s story with the help of newly uncovered print sources, images, and artifacts. The lecture is based on their book, co-authored with Richard Schubert, Hero or Coward? The Story of General Fitz John Porter, published last year by Blue Hill Press. Copies of the book will be available for sale after the program.

Dr. Kimberly S. Alexander is adjunct professor of history at the University of New Hampshire; Director of Client Relations of TheBranchCreative; and past Chief Curator at Strawbery Banke Museum. Dr. Dane A. Morrison is Professor of Early American History at Salem State University; author of A Praying People: Massachusetts Acculturation and the Failure of the Puritan Vision, 1600–1690; and editor of American Indian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Contemporary Issues and Salem: Place, Myth, and Memory.

2012 Summer Program Series

Sunday, May 20, 3:00 PM - Annual Meeting
Pearson Hall Revitalization Plans: We'll talk about our vision for the building, what's been done, what needs to be done, what it will cost, how we'll do that, and how you can help make things happen.
Ladd Street School House

Thursday, June 14, 7:00 PM - General Fitz John Porter: Hero or Coward?
Dr. Kimberly Alexander and Dr. Dane A. Morrison: How does a man from Portsmouth, who seemed destined for greatness, struggle to restore his reputation after humiliating public defeat? An examination of one of the most notorious scandals of the Civil War.
Ladd Street School House

Tuesday, July 17, 7:00 PM - New Hampshire on Skis
Dr. John Allen, Plymouth State University Professor of History Emeritus: Take Scandinavian and Austrian immigrants, the Dartmouth Outing Club, the Cannon Mountain Tramway, the muscular Christian, and amateur tinkerers. Cover with snow and shake. The result is a unique New Hampshire history. Presented with the support of the New Hampshire Humanities Council.
Ladd Street School House

Tuesday, August 21, 7:00 PM - Native American History of New Hampshire
Dr. David Spencer-Smith: Abenaki and Pennacook allies held off Europeans for almost 90 years during a succession of "Indian Wars," culminating in the end of the French and Indian Wars in 1761. During this time, Indians and colonists exchanged and encountered each other's cultures, religions, trade goods, and even kinship. Presented with the support of the New Hampshire Humanities Council.
Ladd Street School House


Saturday, October 27, 5:30 PM - Annual Progressive Dinner: Save the date.