Although not yet able to welcome visitors in-person, some museums on the NH Heritage Museum Trail have recently released online exhibitions.
At the Museum of the White Mountains in Plymouth, Trail Clubs: Connecting People with the Mountains explores the 140-year history of trail clubs and their role in the development of the White Mountains. “Our region’s mountain trails have served as a destination for visitors and residents seeking to challenge themselves or for scenic beauty, spiritual refreshment and fellowship,” said Director Cynthia Cutting. “This online exhibit explores this fascinating history.”
Originally shown in 2015-16.Trail Clubs: Connecting People with the Mountains represents an effort by the museum to revisit and reexamine past exhibits.
At the American Independence Museum in Exeter, Curator Jennifer Carr takes people back nearly 250 years through several online exhibits, one of which focuses on how Americans memorialize what is important to them. “In Commemoration and Memorialization, we take visitors through some items in our collection to reveal the ways in which people throughout history commemorated the past,” she said.
One highlight from the exhibit includes a shingle from the Old Courthouse in Plymouth, New Hampshire where Daniel Webster made his first argument. “We take people around New England and through time in our exhibit,” added Carr.
To view Trail Clubs: Connecting People with the Mountains, visit plymouth.edu/mwm. To view Commemoration and Memorialization, visit independencemuseum.org.
Formed in 2014 as a way to share resources and better promote their respective collections, programs and events, The NH Heritage Museum Trail is divided into the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes Regions. 18 member institutions are located in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth and Wolfeboro.
Portsmouth Historical Society @ Discover Portsmouth
With a consistent emphasis on engaging visitors of all ages, several museums on the NH Heritage Trail are hosting family-oriented activities this upcoming weekend. At the Libby Museum in Wolfeboro on Sunday, July 24, its Family Day theme will be Karner Blue Butterfly where Fish and Game Karner Blue expert Rebecca Segelhurst will give a talk and guests can visit a large butterfly tent. In addition to free admission to the museum, visitors may also enjoy crafts, music and food. To learn more, visit www.thelibbymuseum.org.
On Friday in Laconia, the Belknap Mill will present the second installment of its Music on the River Concert Series in Rotary Riverside Park and Gazebo, which is located behind the Mill. The second concert is JD Ingalls Up from Florida. A native of Boston, Ingalls, who now lives in Naples, Florida, began playing music professionally at the age of 17 and is known for his acoustic rock and pop tunes with tropical soul. Visit www.belknapmill.org for more information.
In Portsmouth, the Portsmouth Historical Society @ Discover Portsmouth hosts several walking tours, including one that leaves daily at 10 am as well as 5 pm on Fridays. In this tour, visitors will take a 60-minute walk that covers the streets, stories, buildings and architecture of historic downtown. To learn more about this or other available tours, visit www.portsmouthhistory.org.
Other events on The Trail this weekend include Music on the Farm on Saturday at the New Hampshire Farm Museum where visitors can relax to old time music or try their hand at it. Visit www.farmmuseum.org for more information. For those who may want to leave the kids at home, the Woodman Museum in Dover will host a Centennial Celebration, which will celebrate its 100th Anniversary in addition to support long range organizational goals. Featuring a buffet dinner, cash bar, live and recorded music, speakers from the past and present, and tours of all four of its houses, the event takes place on Saturday, July 23. Visit www.woodmanmuseum.org for more information.
Museums on the Trail include the Aviation Museum, Albacore Park, American Independence Museum, Castle in the Clouds, Lake Winnipesaukee Museum, Libby Museum, Millyard Museum, Museum of the White Mountains, New Hampshire Boat Museum, New Hampshire Farm Museum, Portsmouth Historical Society @ Discover Portsmouth, Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm, The Belknap Mill, Woodman Museum, and Wright Museum of WWII.
Comprised of 15 museums that stretch from Portsmouth to Plymouth and several points west and north, the NH Heritage Trail provides unique opportunities to experience NH history today.We take people from pre-colonial American right up through WWII in New Hampshire,” said Michael Culver, president of The Trail and executive director of the Wright Museum of WWII in Wolfeboro. The Granite State is a pretty fascinating place.Many museums on The Trail offer hands-on activities, including the New Hampshire Boat Museum (NHBM) in Wolfeboro, which offers the opportunity for adults and families to build boats. From July 9 to July 17, adults can work individually or as a family team to build anything from a one-person canoe or kayak to a Paddleboard, Bevinâ’™s Skiff, or Opti Sailboat.From July 18 to July 22, kids can engage in fun projects in boating, science, water ecology, aquatic life, local history, and arts and crafts at NHBM’s Lake Discovery Camp for Kids where they can engage. Visit www.nhbm.org for more information.To the west at the Museum of the White Mountains in Plymouth, visitors can enjoy an information talk on July 20 entitled, “Lucy Crawford: A Living History Presentation. Lucy Crawford’s 1845 History of the White Mountains was the first book published about the White Mountains, as it chronicles her family’s 50-year effort to introduce the visiting public to the wonders and beauty of the White Mountains.At the event, living history portrayer Dijit Taylor will share Crawford’s stories of life in the mountains, punctuated by birth and death, love and betrayal, road and trail building and associated disasters. For more information, visit www.plymouth.edu/museum-of-the-white-mountains.The NH Heritage Trail has also evolved in recent years in its development of special events geared specifically for families. At the American Independence Museum, thousands of visitors are expected to attend its annual American Independence Festival on July 16. Featuring battle re-enactments, colonial demonstrations, live music and games for kids, the Festival celebrates America’s birth and NH’s role in it. Visit www.independencemuseum.org for more information.Other family-oriented events include Family Day at the Wright Museum where visitors can take rides in WWII vehicles and tours of the Wright Museum. Other activities include face painting, WWII re-enactors, Mo the Clown and his balloon artistry, a magic show; a caricaturist; two Squam Lake Nature Center programs with live animals; games, a 50/50 raffle, food vendors, and more. See www.wrightmuseum.org for details.Also located in Wolfeboro, the Libby Museum hosts its Family Day, “Karner Blue Butterfly,†on July 24. At this event, Fish and Game Karner Blue expert Rebecca Segelhurst will give a talk, while visitors may also enjoy crafts, a butterfly tent and free entrance to the museum. To learn more, visit www.thelibbymuseum.org.On July 16 at Londonderry’s Aviation Museum of NH, visitors can enjoy the 2nd annual Homebuilt Aircraft Fly-In. “This is a fun, family friendly event, and visitors will have the opportunity to see a variety of experimental aircraft flying in and on display,†said Executive Director Jessica Pappathan. “There will be activities and demonstrations for all ages, and food and ice cream available for purchase.†To learn more, visit www.aviationmuseumofnh.org.Museums on the Trail include the Aviation Museum, Albacore Park, American Independence Museum, Castle in the Clouds, Lake Winnipesaukee Museum, Libby Museum, Millyard Museum, Museum of the White Mountains, New Hampshire Boat Museum, New Hampshire Farm Museum, Portsmouth Historical Society @ Discover Portsmouth, Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm, The Belknap Mill, Woodman Museum, and Wright Museum of WWII.