Portsmouth Historical Society

Name: Portsmouth Historical Society
Address: 870 E Main Road, Portsmouth, RI, 02871, US
Telephone: (401) 683-9178

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Portsmouth Historical Society

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The Portsmouth Historical Society is a non-profit devoted to the preservation of Portsmouth history

The Portsmouth Historical Society has worked to preserve the Christian Union Church (1865) as its headquarters and museum by using grants from the Champlin Foundations. The cataloging of items and the creation of exhibits using the various artifacts collected over the past 60 years is an ongoing process. The Southermost School (1725) was moved to the Portsmouth Historical Society site in 1952. It has been entered on the National Register of Historic Places. The Old Town Hall (c. 1850) was moved to the Portsmouth Historical Society site in 1975. The Board of Directors meets on the third Monday of each month at 7:00 PM at the Portsmouth Historical Society Museum. The Portsmouth Historical Society:
Provides programs of interest about Portsmouth to the public;
Has provided assistance with genealogical searches and property identification;
Has provided tours of various historical sites;

10/28/2026

Another well known resident of Oakland Farm was Sarah Gibbs who became the primary tenant between 1842 until her death in 1866. Known as “Aunt Sarah” by her family, she was famous for her hospitality. Sarah never married, but was an integral part of the Channing family and wrote about the Channing girls as “my children.”

Sarah was devout in her Episcopal faith, both on Sundays and in her home life. A bell in the Oakland house called the family to daily morning and evening prayer. St. Mary’s Church, built in the Gothic Revival style, was designed by Richard Upjohn and erected at her own expense.

Want to learn more about Oakland Farm’s fascinating history? Explore Jim Garman’s book Gentlemen’s Farms of Portsmouth, RI or Gloria Schmidt’s Portsmouth History Notes.

10/21/2026

Did you know that Oakland Farm was a working farm long before it became a condominium community?

In colonial times, the property belonged to the Cornell family, large landowners in southern Portsmouth. Around 1796, two prominent Newport merchants, George Gibbs and Walter Channing, took possession of the property. Despite complications involving the will of George’s wife, Mary Channing Gibbs, the farm remained occupied by the two families.

One of its most notable residents was William Ellery Channing, who married his first cousin, Ruth Gibbs, and served as minister of the Federal Street Church in Boston. For Channing, Oakland Farm provided a welcome escape from the bustle and demands of city life. He sometimes preached at the Christian Union Church (home of the Portsmouth Historical Society).

Want to learn more about Oakland Farm’s fascinating history? Explore Jim Garman’s book Gentlemen’s Farms of Portsmouth, RI or Gloria Schmidt’s Portsmouth History Notes.

10/09/2026

Founders Brook: Celebrating Portsmouth’s Tercentenary in 1936

In 2026, we mark the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding. Eighty years earlier, in 1936, Portsmouth celebrated its own milestone: the 300th anniversary of its founding.

On July 8, 1936, the Portsmouth Tercentenary Committee unveiled a monument honoring Portsmouth’s founders at a site known as Founders Brook. Believed by many to be the original spring around which the early settlement developed, the site was marked by a large puddingstone bearing a bronze tablet inscribed with the Portsmouth Compact (PH1-79).

These photographs, taken by Newport Daily News photographer Donald P. Thurston, capture dignitaries arriving in Portsmouth by train for the celebration PH1-69). Navy personnel raised the flag (PH1-77). One of the speakers was William H. Vanderbilt III, owner of Oakland Farm, who would become Rhode Island’s governor in 1938. (PH1-72 Vanderbilt is seated on the far left.)

As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, these historic images offer a wonderful reminder of how Portsmouth commemorated its own important milestone 90 years ago.

10/07/2026

Last Sunday's Providence Journal featured an article about hidden historical gems across the state including the Portsmouth Historical Society. Here it is in case you missed it-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wim-T-vOWXeTNCidHBY6pcBYixg5HEEY/view?usp=sharing

09/21/2026

88 years ago today—September 21, 1938—the Great New England Hurricane devastated Portsmouth and communities throughout Rhode Island.

The hurricane began near the Cape Verde Islands, came ashore on Long Island, and then moved rapidly into New England. In Rhode Island, the storm surge reached approximately 17 feet above high-tide level, destroying homes, buildings, boats, and entire stretches of coastline.

Shown here are two of the many Portsmouth homes destroyed in the storm. The photo on the left (PH1-181) shows the Norman Hall house, located near the coal mines off West Main Road. Jim Rouse’s home was also destroyed (PH1-182).

09/20/2026

Be sure to check out the Portsmouth Historical Society’s YouTube channel! Board member Rich Talipsky has filmed many of our lectures and programs, making them available to enjoy anytime. It’s a great way to catch up on programs you may have missed—or revisit a favorite!

Take a look and explore our collection of Portsmouth history.

https://www.youtube.com/

09/15/2026

🕵️ Spies and Lies — Another Portsmouth Connection!

Newport merchant Metcalf Bowler was known as a leader in Rhode Island’s fight for independence. In addition to his Newport home, Bowler owned a farm on Wapping Road in Portsmouth.

But there was more to Bowler’s story than met the eye. In the late 1920s, while the papers of British General Sir Henry Clinton were being catalogued, correspondence was discovered revealing that Bowler had secretly become a paid informer for the British—even as he was being celebrated as an American Patriot.

Why the change of heart? It appears Bowler hoped to protect his properties in and around Newport from plundering following the British occupation.

On display at Rosecliff as part of Revolution Reimagined: Evolving Stories from Newport’s Past is this gilded eagle, one of a pair that once topped the gateposts of Bowler’s Portsmouth home. (Newport Historical Society, 25.3)

The eagle has been a national symbol since it appeared on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782.

House Photo PHS PH1-19

09/14/2026

Portsmouth 250th Lecture Series Update

Join us Thursday, September 17 at 6:30 PM at the Portsmouth Historical Society for “The Battle of Prudence Island: January 12–13, 1776,” presented by Laurie McDonough Greaney, Regent of the Battle of Rhode Island Chapter of the DAR.

Greaney will share new research about this little-known Revolutionary War engagement, including an expanded directory of the men who fought and previously undocumented stories of what happened during those two days on Prudence Island.

Free and open to the public. Donations welcome.
Portsmouth Historical Society, 870 East Main Road. Handicap accessible.

09/12/2026

The current exhibition, Revolution Reimagined: Evolving Stories from Newport’s Past, includes this acrylic-on-board painting by Lawrence F. Sykes, created to honor the First Rhode Island Regiment during the nation’s Bicentennial.

The caption reads:

“The colonial call to arms... mobilized free men and slave... Fighting heroically they routed... British forces at Bloody Run Brook... and went on to serve with honor... in the war for independence, 1976–1978.” (Collection of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society)

The First Rhode Island Regiment has a significant Portsmouth connection. A monument to the regiment stands at Patriots Park in Portsmouth, commemorating the site where the Black Regiment courageously fought off a Hessian attack on August 29, 1778, helping to save the American line during the Battle of Rhode Island.

Inscribed on the monument are the names of those who served—a lasting tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the men of the First Rhode Island Regiment.

Address

870 E Main Road
Portsmouth, RI
02871

Telephone

(401) 683-9178

Website

http://portsmouthhistorical.org/

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