Portsmouth, NH

Portsmouth grew as a seaport on the Piscataqua River’s tidal harbor, opposite Maine. European colonists established Strawbery Banke on the west bank in 1630, and the Portsmouth Downtown Historic District now encompasses Market Square and the old urban core. The 2020 census recorded 21,956 residents. Military history also remains visible: a municipal airport expanded during World War II became Pease Air Force Base in 1956 and later Portsmouth International Airport at Pease. USS Albacore, an experimental submarine built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 1953, pioneered the teardrop hull adopted by modern submarines; after its 1972 retirement, it returned to Portsmouth as a museum in 1985.