History

On a snowy April 4, 1974, plans for the renovation of 15 Bow Street were laid down. Shortly thereafter, construction of the Dolphin Striker and a then-unnamed tavern began. During the excavation of the cellar, a spring-fed well was uncovered which local historians verified as the Spring Hill Well, circa 1761. This prompted the naming of the tavern and a search into the fascinating history of Ceres Street.

In 1630, the first settlers sailed up the Piscataqua and anchored in the cove where the tugboats are now berthed. They came ashore and climbed a small strawberry-covered hill to find springs of water, one of which now feeds the Spring Hill Tavern well. This area, at the junction of Bow and Ceres Streets, soon became knows as Spring Hill.

Here the first market was established, and in 1761 the Town erected a building called The Market. The women from the Maine side of the River came in small canoes with farm produce to sell or barter. Their leader was Hannah Mariner, one of the Market's most formidable characters.

In 1802, on the day after Christmas, much of the town (including the Market area), went up in flames. After the fire, the present row of brick structures, known then as Merchant's Row, was built. Sailing ships crowded alongside the busy docks unloading their cargoes into the cellars and subcellars of these buildings. These ships would depart with their deck casks filled with the water of the Spring Hill well.

During the 1800s, many businesses occupied One Merchant's Row. One of the most colorful, a "Fancy House" on the top floor, flourished with the advent of the Kittery Ferry Service in 1895. Passengers and sailors debarked to see its pretty girls waving from the top story windows.

At the turn of the century, Portsmouth became known as the Wine and Beer Market of the New World. When Frank Jones and other local brewers were at their peak, shiploads of Canadian grain were stored in the buildings of Merchant's Row. Thus, it is generally agreed that Ceres Street takes its name from the Roman Goddess of the Harvest.

Because you asked … Dolphin Strikers were used back in the schooner era to protect the bowsprits from damage by the playful dolphins as they jumped high alongside the ships while under sail.