The city became a regional center for trade and served as the capital of colonial New Hampshire from 1679 until the middle of the Revolutionary War. Eighteenth-century trade flourished, providing the capital for the building of mansions, houses, wharves and warehouses. Many of the wooden houses that lined the narrow downtown streets succumbed to the great fires of 1802, 1806 and 1813. The regions economy grew until President Thomas Jeffersons 1807 embargo and the War of 1812 significantly reduced maritime trade. After 1814, commerce shifted 15 miles upriver to water-powered textile mills. The arrival of the railroad and the steam engine of the 1840s spurred the development of Portsmouths own industries, which included foundries, machine shops and textile mills. Following the Civil War, beer- and ale-making became the citys dominant industry. The breweries included the Eldredge Brewery and Frank Jones Brewery, which at the time was Americas largest ale-maker. Neighborhoods of workers housing were constructed adjacent to these industrial sites. By the turn of the 19th century, Portsmouths historic character and architecture had already made it a tourist destination. The Naval Shipyard, founded in 1800 by the U.S. Congress, became the areas largest employer, expanding to meet 20th-century wartime needs. The Treaty of Portsmouth, ending the Russo-Japanese War, was signed here in 1905. In the 1950s, Portsmouth, now a gritty industrial city, was threatened by federal slum clearance programs. Residents were galvanized by the threat, organizing Strawbery Banke Museum and rehabilitating historic buildings. Since the 1960s, the city has been a artistic and cultural center amidst renovated commercial and residential properties. The Harbour Trail sites you will visit embody the heritage of which Portsmouths residents are so proud.portsmouthnh/harbourtrail/history.cfm...
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 23:25:18 +0000
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