Celebrating Rye's Historic Homes

Celebrating Rye’s Historic Homes ~ as published in Stroll Magazine Sept. 2023

Over the past 400 years, our town’s residential architecture has evolved from 17th century colonial to 21st century modern styles. Each one has a story that is part of who we are as a community.

As one of the final events of our 400th celebration, the owners of four historic homes and one barn are opening their doors to a limited number of visitors on Saturday, December 2, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (last entry at 3:30 p.m.).

Decorated for the holiday season by leading area designers — Darcy Boyle, Cara Burzynski, Renee Carmen, Colleen Lake, Alisha Lavasseur, Kendra McCauley, Bridget Shannon and Suzanne Stone  — the self-guided tour is an opportunity to not only enjoy the beauty of the season, but also learn more about the significance of these structures to our local cultural identity. Tickets go on sale, online only via Eventbrite, beginning Sunday, October 15, 2023.

The buildings include the:

1. Marden/Parsons Homestead @ 520 Washington Road (c. 1757)

2. William Trefethen House @ 540 Washington Road (c.1812​)

3. William Berry House @ 546 Washington Road (c. 1725)

4. Dr. Charles F. Patterson House and Office @ 585 Washington Road (c. 1900)

5. Simon Goss House Barn @ 1 Central Road (c. 1810)

After the tour, visit the Rye Town Museum, open for holiday shopping, and the Rye Congregational Church for “Holiday Tea” in Fellowship Hall.

According to Jean Briggs Badger, the Rye400 Tour Coordinator, “I wish to thank the homeowners for their generosity and hospitality, the designers for their vision and talent and the community members who have helped plan this event for the past year!  It will be a magical day in Rye as we honor our past and celebrate our future.”

Learn more about Rye’s historic homes by researching the archives at the Rye Historical Society. Also, watch the YouTube video (below) for the Rye Advocates — formed by volunteers from the Rye Historical Society, Rye Heritage Commission, Rye Historic District Commission, and the Demolition Review Committee — who are working to preserve our historic buildings.

Living History - Roger Odiorne Philbrick

When you meet Roger Odiorne Philbrick, you never suspect a thing. You first notice an unassuming man, dressed in work clothes with the rugged look of someone who’s been outside for most of his life. His smile is broad and you know he means it when he says “nice to meet you.” And then, it hits you. The names. Odiorne. Philbrick. They are among those founding families who are front and center of the town’s 400th celebration. He is a man who not only personifies the concept of Rye400, but also continues to make and live history in the town. Roger and his family still own and work the last of the original Rye-family farms, now baling hay on about 60 acres off today’s Central Road. He’ll talk about the history of the farm and lead you to the spot on the property where the original Central Road was located. The stone walls that define the old byway are still there as well as a tree that has been blooming since the 1760s. It’s a look back at time unlike any other. He’ll take you into the shack where he and friends make maple syrup; talk about how he makes apple cider “the way they used to;” and how, every Thursday, extended family still gets together for dinner to make sure the connections remain strong. It’s a simple life, reflective of the past and he’ll tell you he wouldn’t have it any other way. And then, he lets you into the Philbrick story. It starts with the formal genealogy dating back to 17th century England, leaving no doubt of his direct-line descendancy; then the family photographs — working the farm, having fun around town; out come the diaries detailing everyday life in Rye — weather, expenses, meetings, feelings; and scrapbooks, one of which, for example, details obituaries for 80 or so years. If that’s not enough, there are also local historical topics of interest that he’s written about — some typed, some handwritten. It’s a treasure trove of information, the envy of any historical archives and sought after by local researchers.

The public will have a chance to hear and interact with Roger when, as part of the Rye400 speaker series, he talks about his life, the history of his family and Rye on Tuesday, October 24,2023, at 6:30 p.m. at the Rye Congregational Church.

Seeing Signs of Rye400

It’s sometimes difficult to decide what historic sites and locations to highlight and promote a 400-year history. The Rye Heritage Commission (RHC) recognized that challenge and, in April, 2022, formed a subcommittee of six Rye residents to identify and create, for the town’s 400th-year celebration, a series of signs and locations commemorating different aspects of Rye evolution. The members included Eileen Behan McCue, chair, Jaci Grote, Alex Herlihy,  Andy Stecher, Lydia Tilsley and Peter White.

Their task was daunting. The goal was to identify subjects that would not only cover both the natural and developed community, but also current and former environments and/or events. The list started at 75 topics. From there, the committee began to review each suggestion, continuing to narrow down that number, site by site. Ultimately, they settled on seven diverse, historical topics and their locations:

1. Bracket Road Burial Site  at Bracket road, opposite 605 Brackett Road

2. Family Farms that Shaped Rye’s History at 81 West Road

3. Goss Farm, Awcomin Marsh, Rye Harbor, Isles of Shoals at the Goss Farm parking area

4. Historic Hotels at Ocean Boulevard, opposite the former Drake House Hotel, between Sea and South Roads

5. Historic Rye Center at the Rye Public Library Common

6. Pulpit Rock Tower at the end of Neptune Road

7. Trefethen Corner at the Madden Group building

The team worked with Brenda Riddell of Graphic Details in Portsmouth, to design the signs and with Portsmouth Sign Company to fabricate them. Each measures 24” X 30” and includes images and historically relevant information, written in collaboration with  content experts Paul and Denise Pouliot (Cowasuck Band of Pennacook-Abenaki People) the Brown Family members and Larry Keech. The visuals were provided by the Rye Historical Society and private family collections.

The project was a true, community-wide effort with input from the Historic District Commission, Rye Conservation Commission, Rye400 Committee, and Rye Town Center Committee. In addition, the group consulted with Public Works Director Jason Rucker, Police Chief Kevin Walsh and Library Trustee chair Jeff Ross, to secure appropriate spots for the signs.  The signs are on town-owned land with the exception of the one for Trefethen’s Corner. That one is on The Madden Group building, recognizing it as a site which, until  the 1960s, served as a popular General Store.

The final element of the plan was fundraising. A mailer was sent to every household and residents generously raised more than $24,000 to cover the costs of the project.  The results represent the most successful fundraiser in RHC’s history.

The signs, telling Rye’s story in a visually compelling way, were erected in their respective locations in May. Get in your car or take a walk  and take a look — a map with each sign location is available at www.ryenh400.org. Thank you Rye Heritage Commission and sign committee for a job well done!

Abenaki Culture On Digital Display

Abenaki Culture On Digital Display ~ Rye 400 Committee

As published in Stroll Magazine, April, 2023

This year, we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first European settlement in what is now the State of New Hampshire. However, what we may forget is that centuries before this settlement, native peoples — among them the Abenaki confederacy — lived, worked the land and thrived in the area. As the European settlements grew, the Indigenous population was gradually displaced and their history not a focus of popular history —- until now.

After a year of development,  a collaborative team of several organizations and funding sources is launching Homelands,  a new augmented-reality application, allowing users to view illustrations of Abenaki culture in the landscape. Current partner sites include Odiorne State Park and the Seacoast Science Center, Strawbery Banke Museum, and the Star Island Corporation. 

This educational resource was created jointly among the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, Indigenous New Hampshire Collaborative Collective, Film Unbound, and the Center for Humanities at the University of New Hampshire. The project was funded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and generous donations from individuals. Denise Pouliot, Sagimoskwa (Head Female Speaker) of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacool-Abenaki People, is excited for the possibilities that this educational resource provides. “The Homelands Application brings the Abenaki culture and history to the forefront, offering an accurate decolonialized narrative, with an evolutionary pathway of illustrations connecting contemporary people to the natural world, past, present and future.” she said.

Working closely with the Seacoast Science Center and NH State Parks, a division of the state’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resource, the creative team has researched the Indigenous practices that would have taken place, some as far back as 13,000 years ago. Both the oral tradition of the Abenaki and archaeological evidence indicates that the plants, animals, and people in this area would have interacted in specific ways. The illustrations at the site in Rye, for example, titled Monuments, showcase the hunting of Woolly Mammoth, the construction of a dugout canoe made of White Pine, and the preparations of goods for trading both among Indigenous individuals and, later, colonists. 

Homelands doesn’t just represent the distant past. It was vital to the creative team that the present and future of Indigenous life was also acknowledged and celebrated. For that reason, the illustration of an Indigenous woman teaching fish, net-weaving skills will sit directly outside the Seacoast Science Center.  In addition, just off the shore, an illustration of a breaching whale and flying osprey, highlights how a return to Indigenous fishing practices could help restore a healthy marine ecology. 

The Homelands app launched in March and is available to download for free in both the Apple Store and Google Play Store. For further information visit indigenousnh.com.

Finding Your Roots in Rye

Finding Your Roots in Rye ~ Rye400 Committee

As published in Stroll Magazine, May 2023

There comes a time when many of us ask, “Where do I come from?” We know our immediate family, of course, but what do we know of our ancestors? Enter genealogy.

The dictionary defines it as “the study of family ancestral lines.”  Today, that means going beyond just finding the names of our  ancestors. We seek to understand where our family came from, their history, their accomplishments, their struggles. It’s also about finding new relatives we may not even know we had!

In the past, genealogy depended on visits to town halls, libraries, cemeteries, places of worship and interviews with relatives. It was about reading the actual written records that existed for a person or family — a time-consuming and often frustrating hunt for information. Now, we have the advantage of technology and the availability of online databases and records, allowing us to research everything we need from the comfort of our homes.

 Online sites — Ancestry, Family Search — newspaper archive searches and local/regional groups are also a resource. Here in Rye, the Rye Historical Society (RHS) is one of those resources. It has amassed an extensive collection of documents, photographs, diaries, town records, etc. of the people who’ve lived and worked here. There is, for example, a listing of every cemetery and graveyard with the names, dates, interments and location of the family burial sites. Unlike other colonial towns in New England, Rye didn’t have a town-owned and cared-for cemetery until 1893. Up to then, each family either buried their loved ones on their own land or purchased a cemetery plot in a another town/city.

The RHS resources are available for research by appointment or on Saturdays between 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., in the Spring through Fall months. Additionally, RHS hosts a Zoom-based genealogy group — open to anyone —  on the third Tuesday of each month. As part of those meetings, there are participants who have extensive knowledge of both local history and backgrounds of Rye’s early families. So, download the Zoom app, check the RHS website calendar for the link and join the meetings! You can also reach the group at info@ryenhhistoricalsociety.org.

Teachers Working on Rye400

By Rye400 Committee

As published in Stroll Magazine, January 2023

The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, once said, “Those who know do.Those who understand teach.” Here in Rye, we have an amazing group of teachers who understand the importance of education in a child’s development as a productive and contributing member of our community and society. That’s why the Rye400 Committee, under the auspices of the Rye Historical Society (RHS), turned to them to help develop a series of activities for students, focusing on the town’s 400-year history.

The Committee is fortunate to have Jean Briggs Badger, former superintendent of the Dover, NH school system and current RHS board member, leading the effort. “Our teachers are our greatest asset,” she said. “By engaging them as part of our planning, we know the programs they develop will be appropriate and fun for our youngest Rye residents.”

Briggs Badger started discussions with the two new principals: Anne Gilbert, Principal, Rye Junior High and Michelle Pitts, Principal, Rye Elementary. With their support and leadership, a collaborative team of enthusiastic teachers was assembled to plan numerous activities and events to bring our Rye history alive for the students and the community. We are proud to introduce and thank the elementary school teachers — Jaquie Defreze, Phoebe Bishoff, Denise Wheeler, Gene Guth, Eileen Murphy — who are working with the teacher team at the junior high school— Chandra Eves, Laura Brown, Cody Booth, and Ed O’Brien. 

“These educators started working in August,” Briggs Badger said, “with a goal of rolling everything out, in January and running throughout 2023.” Some of the educational projects and enrichment opportunities being considered include:

1)    Legacy Project — an oral history project that involves students interviewing older town residents.

2)    Wax Museum of people who are prominent in Rye’s history.

3)    Essay and/or poster contest.

4)    Mural art show.

5)    Highlighting various themes of Rye’s 400-year history —fishing, childhood games, tourist hotels, etc.

6)    Focus on the indigenous community in collaboration with Paul Pouliot of the Cowasuck Tribe. Demonstrations of native cooking, music, drumming, crafts, etc.

7)    “Community Reads” project in collaboration with the Rye Library.

8)    Creating a time capsule that will be presented to the Town.

9)    Holiday parade with the school band.

10) Involvement in Rye Day on July 1, 2023, in Parsons Field.

11) Creating bookmarks for Rye400 that can be distributed through the Rye Library.

12) 400th-themed content in “Talents by the Sea,” an annual publication of students' poems and short stories.

13) Boat parade.

14) Proposal for an “Artist-in-Residence” project submitted to the Rye Educational Foundation, a nonprofit group that raises funds to support teachers and school projects outside the regular school budget.

 To learn more about this educational initiative and all the other planned 2023 events, check out the Rye400 website at https://www.ryenh400.org, contact Rye400 at RyeNH400@gmail.com, and follow us on Instagram @RyeNH400.

400 Years of Rye, New Hampshire

Rye400 Committee - As published in Stroll Magazine, February 2023

This year, 2023, marks the 400th anniversary of the first European settlement in the area we now know as Rye. Why are we celebrating? “It’s our story,” says Andy Stecher, Rye400 Committee Chair. “We can trace the beginning of the State of New Hampshire to a spot that is now Odiorne Point. Everything we are doing, is in recognition of that story.”

Thousands of years before the Europeans landed in the area, there were people who lived on and worked the land. According to Howard S. Russell’s Indian New England Before the Mayflower (1980), there were native Algonquins and a Penacook confederacy. Proof of their existence is recorded in 1608 by French explorer, Samuel de Champlain. Less than 20 years later, Russell states, disease decimated the Penacook. The Abenaki confederacy from the north migrated to the area and is established when, in 1623, David Thompson and a group of Europeans took advantage of the already-established fishing outposts on the Isles of Shoals and established a settlement on the mainland called Pannaway Plantation.

In the years that followed, their fishing industry prospered by supplying great amounts of dried fish to the European market. Family-owned farms were established to support the growing needs of the inhabitants. At the same time, according to NH’s Folk Life Center (https://www.nh.gov/folklife/learning-center), the state’s Native American population was declining due to disease, conflicts with invading Mohawks, and tensions with European settlers increasingly claiming ownership of Abenaki ancestral lands.  The remaining Abenaki either married Europeans, melded into the rural population, or left and settled in Canada.

By 1726, the “Plantation,” was designated as the Parish of Rye in New Castle, named at the suggestion of the Jenness family who came from Rye, England. About 60 years later, in 1785, the Parish was incorporated as the separate, independent town of Rye, New Hampshire.

 Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, small, family farms continued to evolve. By the mid-19th century, with the accessibility of train travel to all, the trend to visit the seashore became an opportunity for Rye entrepreneurs. Boarding houses made stays affordable, and bigger hotels — e.g., the Farragut — appeared on the mainland and out on the Isles of Shoals. The number and quality of the accommodations helped establish Rye as one of the most popular destinations on the eastern seaboard.

 Rye’s reputation as a beautiful seaside community continues today. Its 18 miles of shoreline still attract thousands of day visitors annually. But, although there are still a few vacation lodgings in town, the grand hotels and boarding houses have vanished. Today, Rye, with its roots in fishing, farming and tourism, has evolved to a predominantly residential community.

The Rye400 Committee, under the auspices of the Rye Historical Society, is proud to lead the effort for this community-wide celebration. “We are aware of our responsibility to ensure we have a celebration that recognizes all aspects of our history and has something for everyone,” says  Stecher. Keep up on everything Rye400 @ https://www.ryenh400.org/,  via email @ ryenh400@gmail.com, on Facebook and on Instagram (ryenh400).

African Americans in Rye

Rye 400 Committee - As published in Stroll magazine, March 2023

The African-American community has been  a visible presence on the seacoast since the first Europeans landed on the shores of what is now Odiorne State Park. What do we know of their story?

There are several resources available, among them are Black Portsmouth: Three Centuries of African-American Heritage, Mark J. Sammons and Valerie Cunningham (2004); Color Me Included: The African Americans of Hampton’s First Church and its Descendant Parishes, 1670-1826, Deborah Knowlton (2016); History of the Town of Rye, New Hampshire, 1623 - 1903, Langdon B. Parsons (1905); the online Slavery in the North, http://slavenorth.com/newhampshire.htm by Douglas Harper (2003); and the Portsmouth Herald archives.

In Black Portsmouth and Color Me Included, we learn the earliest known Africans were brought to Portsmouth in 1645, but not when they were brought to Rye. We do know that in the years between the establishment of the “Parish of Rye at Newcastle,” in 1726, and the incorporation of the town of Rye in 1785, there were enslaved men, women and children in the households of Seavey, Libby, Jenness, Parsons, Berry and Wallis. In Parson’s History of Rye, we learn there were 12 male and seven female enslaved adults in 1773. Two years later, the number increased to 14.

By 1783, the New Hampshire (NH) Constitution declared "all men are born equal and independent…” In the 1790 federal census, the number of enslaved persons in Rye was reduced to three. The last slave reported in the state of NH was in 1840. According to Douglas Harper’s Slavery in the North, enslavement was legally abolished in New Hampshire in 1857 and, in 1860, the state was one of only five that allowed African Americans to vote.

In the years that followed, many African Americans in the area worked in the growing tourist industry. In fact, during the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, Rye photographers A.R.H. Foss and Clarence Trefry captured some images of Black people around town. Although their personal identities are not known, they are among the musicians, athletes and others who would dress fashionably for a visit to the seacoast. Today, these photographs are in the Rye Historical Society archives.

The Klu Klux Klan presence in northern New England in the 1920s did not bypass the small town of Rye. In 1924, the Portsmouth Herald carried an ad inviting people to come to Rye Town Hall to listen to Rev. A. O. Henry, a national Klan speaker. In 1926, at least two Klan meetings were held in town, one in June and the other in July in an open field on Wallis Road. It is unclear if the targets of these meetings were Catholics, Jews, or the Black presence in the area.

It was not until 1979, 200 years after documentation of enslaved people in Rye, that Aldrich Mitchell was elected to the Rye Select Board as the first known person of color to hold a seat.

Whether as enslaved people, domestics and service workers in the local hotel industry, or residents serving in town government, African Americans have been present in the area, now known as Rye and the surrounding communities. We look to historians and organizations like the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH)  and the Seacoast African American Cultural Center to continue to research and document that history. One opportunity to learn more will take place at the Rye Congregational Church on October 8, 2023, 1:00-3:00pm, when Valerie Fagin, a tour guide at BHTNH, will present to the public as part of Rye400’s year-long lecture series. Keep updated on all events @ https://www.ryenh400.org/