Touring Programs
Brewster's Rambles about Portsmouth
Between 1840 and 1850, Charles W. Brewster, “The Rambler,” wrote a series of newspaper articles for the Portsmouth Journal about the history of the town. He drew on “recollections and traditions of our old citizens, town records and documentary sources,” to tell an idiosyncratic history of the town rich in “the incidents of unwritten history.” Brewster’s “rambles” offer both a fascinating anecdotal history of Portsmouth’s earliest days, and a window into 19th century folklore and sensibilities.