The Cousins Apartment exhibition at Strawbery Banke Museum
In Exeter, the Ladd-Gilman House has reopened this season under a new name, the American Independence Center. While guided tours of the colonial and revolutionary-era home remain central to the visitor experience, new exhibits now trace the full arc of American democracy — from 1775 through the present — exploring how each generation has grappled with the meaning of independence.
The Center will also host the inaugural Pursuit of Happiness 5K this July, held on the morning of its annual American Independence Festival on Saturday, July 11. To learn more, visit aicnh.org.
In Portsmouth, Strawbery Banke Museum opened its 2026 season with the debut of the Cousins Apartment, a new permanent exhibit within the newly renamed Penhallow-Cousins House. Developed in partnership with the Seacoast African American Cultural Center and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, the installation interprets the lived experience of a Black family in Portsmouth’s Puddle Dock neighborhood during the Great Migration. To learn more, visit strawberybanke.org.
“Our Seacoast members are showing what it looks like to tell the American story with both honesty and ambition,” said Trail President Jeff Barraclough. “Whether it’s reinventing a beloved institution or opening doors to stories that haven’t been told before, these museums are making the 250th anniversary feel genuinely alive.”
The Seacoast is one of five regions represented on the NH Heritage Museum Trail, alongside the Lakes Region, White Mountains, Dartmouth-Sunapee Region, and Merrimack Valley.