portsmouthhistorynotes

What was the Butts Hill Fort like before Roderick Terry saved the property in 1923? Around 1900 Benjamin Hall owned the fort land at Butts Hill. He seemed to own a good portion of Portsmouth land. The 1914 Portsmouth tax book has him owning (beyond his own residence and estate) the Orswell land, the Baker land, Fort land, Greene land, Ogden land, Dyer land, George Hall land, Copper Works, house lots, Davol Place, Willow Lane, and lot 25 Ocean View. There were rumors that he would sell the Butts Hill Fort land to the state for a park, but what he had in mind was selling it as 200 house lots! Images from Jim Garman’s collection help us to visualize the land at this time.

Vintage photos originally in John Pierce Collection.

For Portsmouth School Department officials, the dedication of Portsmouth High School on July 25, 1964 was the realization of a thirty year dream. As a parent of four graduates of Portsmouth High School, I never realized how difficult it was to establish a high school in Portsmouth. In reading newspaper accounts from the period, I have come to understand that those on the school board really had to fight for the establishment of the school.

The effort began in 1931 when land was offered to the town by Governor William H. Vanderbilt to build a high school for Middletown and Portsmouth. When Portsmouth students graduated from eighth grade, the town provided tuition for their students to go to Rogers High School in Newport or another school. The amount of tuition Portsmouth paid for a public high school could also go toward tuition for those who wished to attend parochial or private schools. Parents who wanted that tuition to send their children to schools like St. Catherines or De La Salle Academy in Newport were opposed to the foundation of the high school. It is interesting that arguments for public funding of private education are still made today. At that time neither Portsmouth nor Middletown was interested in establishing a high school. Interest began to develop when Newport warned that they wouldn’t accept Portsmouth students after 1960. In a special election in 1954, voters in Portsmouth rejected a plan for a joint school with Middletown and Tiverton.

In 1958 the Portsmouth School Department began to look into the issue again. Portsmouth voters rejected establishing a school and opted to create a 9th grade in town and send upper class students to Warren High School. Portsmouth began to plan for what to do with their secondary students. A 13 member study commission was named and a professional consulting service was hired. When Warren barred Portsmouth students beginning in the fall of 1962, the town developed an urgency to solve the problem. In June of 1961 voters began to fund and plan for the high school. Land was purchased adjacent to the Fort Butts School. The newly built and enlarged Fort Butts School would become part of the high school. What remains of Fort Butts School is known as the E Wing today.

High School students attended double sessions at the Fort Butts School until on November 23, 1963 the West Wing was opened and double sessions were no longer needed. This memorable day was also the date of the assassination of President Kennedy, so the first flag to fly that day was lowered to half staff. Portsmouth High School was at that time a six year, Junior-Senior High School. Even as the high school opened, there were predictions that a new school was needed. By 1970 plans were in the works to build a middle school.

Resources: Much of the information came from Newport Daily News articles from the 1950s to 1965. The issue of July 25, 1964 about the school dedication was particularly helpful.