| New Hampshire's oldest community, PORTSMOUTH, might look like a major city on the map, but once you're there it has much more of the feel of a country town, and a pleasant lived-in atmosphere that places it well above some of the smaller, more tourist-focused communities along the coast. Its position at the mouth of the Piscataqua River has always made it an important port – it was the state capital until 1808 – but it has barely grown, and the spire of North Church in the central Market Square remains the highest building you'll see in town. Of a striking selection of grand timber mansions, the 1758 gambrel-roofed, cream-and-white clapboard John Paul Jones House at 43 Middle St, on the corner of State Street, is the most distinctive (June to mid-Oct Mon–Sat 10am–4pm, Sun noon–4pm; $4). However, with so many old houses to see you can contentedly walk at random (or, better, get a Harbour Trail leaflet from the visitor center), and a visit to Strawbery Banke provides a better overview of local history. In Prescott Park along the waterfront, the Sheafe Warehouse Museum (free) has a fascinating collection of mostly nautical ephemera. Indeed Portsmouth's fortunes have long rested with its naval shipyard, visible across the bay (in Kittery, Maine). Founded in 1800 by John Paul Jones as the US government's first shipyard, it has remained active ever since – it launched 31 submarines in 1944 alone, and built the first Polaris in 1962. During World War I, Humphrey Bogart, as a junior naval rating, suffered injuries, while attempting to prevent the escape of a prisoner, that left him with his trademark sneer and a slight lisp.
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