In the face of being excluded from using the Portsmouth’s main library, a committee of black citizens led by St. James Episcopal Church pastor Rev. M. B. Birchette, worked from the late 1920s on to establish a library that Portsmouth’s African American citizens could use. In 1937 a...
Built in 1915, the Lightship PORTSMOUTH served for 48 years off the coasts of Virginia, Delaware, and Massachusetts remaining at strategic locations for months at a time. Now a museum, the ship's quarters are fitted out realistically and filled with fascinating artifacts, uniforms, photographs, models, and other curious...
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum chronicles a 250-year history of the oldest naval shipyard and the City of Portsmouth. This rich history is told through exhibits, hands-on programs, and special events. The museum offers a unique perspective on U.S. History, from colonial times through the mid-twentieth century. Hours:...
Chevra T'helim Synagogue is now known as the Jewish Museum & Cultural Center. This rare surviving example of Eastern European Jewish Orthodoxy is located at the main entrance to the City of Portsmouth, VA. It is a place where visitors from home and around the world can celebrate...
Housed in the 1846 Courthouse, the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center is home to rotating visual art and cultural exhibits, lectures, workshops, and performances. Current Exhibits: Sailing to Freedom Through April 16 Often overlooked by historians is the large number of enslaved people who used coastal routes along...
Imagine a family went for an afternoon stroll and never returned home... This is what it feels like in the Hill House Museum which is furnished entirely with family belongings from the 19th and 20th centuries. The Hill House (circa 1825) is a four-story antebellum English basement home,...
