Wikipedia

Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire grew from the work of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail which was founded in 1995 in Portsmouth.[1] The group's mission is to foster understanding and appreciation of African American history and culture, with the aim of creating more inclusive communities. They offer learning opportunities throughout the year including outreach to schools, guided and self-guided tours, mobile programs, lectures, and workshops. The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire also has programing aimed towards the public such as the Black New England Conference which started in 2006 and the Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk series which started in 2017.[2][3]

History

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After the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail was first established in the 1990s, it eventually included 24 sites within the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[4][5] The trail began in an effort to make the history of black people visible to residents and visitors to Portsmouth.[6] As of 2024, there are markers in fourteen additional towns and cities in New Hampshire and two markers in Kittery, Maine.[7] There are five more to be unveiled in 2025.[8] These markers were added as part of a Mapping Untold Stories program to share the rich history of Black people in New Hampshire.[9]

The first official tour outside of Portsmouth was in the town of Hancock, in western New Hampshire where Jack Ware, a formerly enslaved man, lived in the 1700s. [10]

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire would eventually have its own separate location in the summer of 2018 when they moved into 222 Court St. in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[11] The house having historical value due to its age, the house being from 1740, and its connection to a Portsmouth minister.[12]

Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks

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The Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks are a yearly series of different public panel discussions that speak on a variety of social and historical subjects involving the African American community.[13] The event was created by and is held by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. The event is named after Elinor Williams Hooker an African American woman, who lived in the state of New Hampshire and who was heavily involved in the community as well as being an activist, she died in 2012.[14] The event has been held since 2017 and remains one of the organizations main yearly events, and is held in the month of February, as well as having some Tea Talks outside the month of February as well.[15]

Black New England Conference

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The Black New England Conference was started back in 2006 by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire.[16] The conference is in its 18th year.[17]Each year the Conference takes on a different topic of African American History, Culture and experience.[16] [17] The conference has covered subjects such as Art, New England Sports, the LGBTQIA+ Community, and many others as it relates to the African American community.[17][16]

Historic markers

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A selection of markers along the Black Heritage Trail of NH are listed here.
Unless noted otherwise, sites are in the state of New Hampshire.

References

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  1. ^ Writer, Staff. "Black Heritage Trail opens offices, center". Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  2. ^ Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (2024-10-10). "Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks 2024". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  3. ^ UNH (2024-10-10). "Black New England Archives: Conference Years and Titles". University of New Hampshire: College of Liberal Arts. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  4. ^ "Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail". www.seacoastnh.com. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  5. ^ Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail: A Self-Guided Walking Tour. Portsmouth, NH. 1999.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ "Black history in plain sight: One woman's quest to topple stereotypes". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  7. ^ Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (2024-10-17). "Marker Sites and Information". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  8. ^ Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (2024-10-17). "Marker Sites and Information". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  9. ^ "Black Heritage Trail of NH announces historic marker". nashuatelegraph.com. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  10. ^ "Black Heritage Trail of N.H. Expands With First Official Tour Outside Portsmouth". New Hampshire Public Radio. 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  11. ^ "Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire Buys Portsmouth Property for New HQ". New Hampshire Public Radio. 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  12. ^ Downey, K. C. (2024-02-01). "Black Heritage Trail's Portsmouth office is in home built in 1740". WMUR. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  13. ^ "The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire announces Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks 2024". Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  14. ^ Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (2024-10-10). "2020 EWH Tea Talks Achieve". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  15. ^ Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (2024-10-10). "Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks 2024". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  16. ^ a b c UNH (2024-10-10). "Black New England Archives: Conference Years and Titles". University of New Hampshire: College of Liberal Arts. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  17. ^ a b c Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (2024-10-17). "Black New England Conference 2024". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  18. ^ Kerr, D. Allan. "Kittery's 375th: Rock Rest was 'an oasis' for 20th-Century Black travelers". Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  19. ^ "Portsmouth park honors, preserves African burying ground". Press Herald. 2015-05-23. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  20. ^ Staff, Paul Feely Union Leader (2023-04-26). "Black Heritage Trail NH to unveil historic markers in Nashua, Milford next month". UnionLeader.com. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  21. ^ Foster's, Special to. "Black Heritage Trail of NH invites public for unveiling of historic marker in Dover". Foster's Daily Democrat. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  22. ^ Casey, Michael. "Nashua's Holman Stadium honored for historic role in racially integrating baseball". Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  23. ^ Huss, Julie (2023-08-03). "William Hobdy to get his day in Derry". The Derry News. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  24. ^ "2021 Annual Reports Town of Windham, New Hampshire". UNH Scholars Repository.
  25. ^ Altschiller, Howard. "Marker unveiled honoring Exeter's Black Revolutionary War community: 'An historic moment'". Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  26. ^ Andruskevich, Jodie (2024-09-24). "First Black Heritage Trail of NH marker unveiled in Manchester". New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  27. ^ "Marker Unveiling Honoring Scipio Page | Dunbarton, NH". www.dunbartonnh.org. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  28. ^ Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (2024-10-17). "Milford - The Nehemiah - Hayward Homestead - Historic Marker Unveiling". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  29. ^ "In Jaffrey, a formerly enslaved man left a fortune to the town. Now, the money's funding a marker in his memory". New Hampshire Public Radio. 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
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