Every inland New England resident deserves the chance to inhale the fresh salt air of the Atlantic seacoast from time to time! Therefore, the Crown Point Road Association offers a Saturday, July 15, 2017 daytrip from Vermont – and from New Hampshire’s Grafton and Sullivan Counties – to tour historic houses and exhibits that are located at “Strawbery Banke,” a popular historical attraction on the Atlantic coast of New Hampshire. Reservations can now be made for the trip. A chartered motor coach will transport guests, who may board in their choice of Rutland, Vermont or of West Lebanon, New Hampshire. The host group, a non-profit organization, has set a per-person ticket price of $70.00 which must be received by July 6.

The itinerary consists of a motor coach departure from Rutland at 8:00 a.m. and one from West Lebanon at 9:20 a.m., arrival in Portsmouth at approximately 11:00 a.m., a staff orientation to Strawbery Banke (admission fee is included), and a Panera Bread sandwich to-go meal at 5:00 p.m., to enjoy aboard the motor coach during our return trip to West Lebanon and Rutland, arriving before night-fall. Lunch is not included, all are welcome to bring a bag lunch. Cold soft drinks are available for free while the motor coach is en route. Strawbery Banke has picnic tables outdoors. Those not bringing a lunch may purchase a meal at the museum’s “figtree” café, which offers four salads, beverages, a daily special, and a panini option.

To purchase tickets, the public can send a check in advance, payable to “Crown Point Road Association” for $70 per person, to Tom Hughes, 126 Charles Avenue, Middlebury, Vermont 05753-1304. Please indicate your contact information, the names of each attendee, and the location (Rutland or West Lebanon) where each will board the motor coach. For answers to questions about this trip and to choose specific pick-up and drop-off point locations, please call Tom Hughes at 802-388-2967.

Portsmouth was settled by English colonists in 1630 and named “Strawbery Banke” after the wild strawberries growing there. Fishing, lumber and shipbuilding were principal businesses of the region. At the town’s incorporation in 1653, it was named “Portsmouth” in honor of the port of Portsmouth, England, in the county of Hampshire, for which New Hampshire is named. Portsmouth was the capital of the Province of New Hampshire, from 1630 to 1775. Once one of the nation’s busiest ports and shipbuilding cities, Portsmouth expressed its wealth in fine architecture. It contains significant examples of Colonial, Georgian, and Federal style houses, a selection of which are now museums. The city was also noted for the production of boldly wood-veneered Federalist furniture.

“Strawbery Banke Museum” is a ten-acre neighborhood featuring historic homes in Colonial, Georgian, and Federal styles of architecture. It features more than three dozen restored buildings. Strawbery Banke opened as a museum in 1965. Nine houses are open to guests as furnished historic interiors. Staff interpret the history and lifestyles of each house. There are also five formal exhibits.