John Paul Jones Historic House Museum - Memorial Day through Columbus Day

This historic house was built in 1758 and is open for tours 7 days per week

John Paul Jones, colonial America’s first sea warrior, was a tenant of the Widow Purcell in this house in 1781 while he supervised the building of the Navy’s ship America nearby. Though he loved Portsmouth, he left New Hampshire in 1782 never to return. His house is now the museum of Portsmouth men, women and children, where their stories live.

Exhibitions at the John Paul Jones House:

Overlooked and Undervalued: Three Hundred Years of Women’s Art from the Seacoast

Throughout history, women’s art (and contributions by women in all fields) has often been “overlooked and undervalued,” regarded as inferior to art created by men or relegated to the world of decorative household crafts. Nevertheless, working within these confines, and often coping with the demands of child-bearing and child-rearing, women have created important works of art, broadly conceived, often notable for great technical skill and inventive approaches.

Portsmouth: One of history's great peace negotiations

Ongoing research reveals how the State of New Hampshire, people of Portsmouth and US Navy acted as hosts to the Russian and Japanese delegations in 1905. While President Theodore Roosevelt did not come to Portsmouth, citizen diplomacy played an important role in multi-track efforts that resulted in the Portsmouth Peace Treaty.  

The Treaty of Portsmouth of 1905 stands today as one of history's great peace negotiations. It ended the Russo-Japanese War and marked the emergence of a new era of multi-track diplomacy.