Peter Ayers fought at Bunker Hill, Saratoga, and Yorktown before finding his calling at Canterbury Shaker Village, where he served for 65 years until his death at age 97. His remarkable journey from Revolutionary War battlefield to religious community exemplifies how individual stories shaped both New Hampshire’s heritage and America’s broader narrative.

As summer draws to a close, New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail President Jeff Barraclough called it “one of our strongest seasons yet,” marked by record visitor engagement and significant trail expansion.

In May of 1780, a young man named Peter Ayers met Shaker leader Ann Lee in the tiny community of Niskayuna, New York. Born in Voluntown, Connecticut in 1760, Ayers was 20 years old and a veteran of several Revolutionary War battles including Bunker Hill and Saratoga.

The Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum’s 24th annual Pow Wow drew more than 2,000 guests and over 250 participants this year, making the event one of New England’s largest Indigenous celebrations.

Sometimes it takes a community to decide that history is worth saving. In 1917, an iconic Georgian home at the corner of State and Middle Streets in Portsmouth—built in 1758 for merchant Gregory Purcell—was at risk of demolition.

A single ticket is opening doors to New Hampshire’s history, art, and culture, as the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail’s Passport Program provides residents and visitors with access to nearly two-dozen museums.

The New England Ski Museum, with locations in Franconia and North Conway, has joined the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail, expanding the Trail’s reach into the state’s rich history of snow sports.

Now open for the 2025 season, guests at the Woodman Museum will experience several new exhibits, including an interactive gallery about colonial taverns. “You can walk in, play tavern games, collect recipes, see artifacts, and try on reproduction costuming,” noted Woodman Museum Executive Director Jon Nichols.

After retiring in 1910, millionaire shoe industrialist Thomas G. Plant began developing his grand retirement estate in the Ossipee Mountains of New Hampshire. He purchased 6,300 acres of land in Moultonborough and Tuftonboro, and hired architect J. Williams Beal to design an Arts & Crafts mansion that harmonized with the majestic scenery of the Lakes Region.

The New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail recently welcomed Devon Kurtz as the new Executive Director of the New Hampshire Boat Museum (NHBM). Kurtz joins NHBM at a key time for the organization, which is opening for its first full season at its 24,000 square-foot Moultonborough facility on Saturday, May 24.