Join the Aviation Museum of N.H. at the Portsmouth Historical Society for a one-time event that’s sure to be out of this world.
The program—a look at the alien abduction legend of Portsmouth residents Betty and Barney Hill—takes place on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle St., Portsmouth, N.H.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. to allow visitors time to peruse an ongoing exhibit of artwork inspired by the Hills’ experience.
The Oct. 15 program is a collaboration of the Portsmouth Historical Society and the Aviation Museum of N.H.’s ‘Exploring Aviation’ presentation series.
Tickets are $10 per person; Aviation Museum members admitted free. All attendees are asked to register online at aviationmuseumofnh.org
Attendees will be led around the Society’s current exhibit on Barney and Betty Hill, who were Portsmouth residents. They’ll also hear remarks by Meredith Affleck, the Portsmouth Historical Society’s exhibitions manager. The self-professed lifelong X-Files fan has immersed herself in the events surrounding the Hills’ experience.
On the night of Sept. 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were driving through New Hampshire’s White Mountains on their way back to Portsmouth from their honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls and Montreal. On Route 3, near Franconia, they saw a light in the sky. Their world, and ours, was never the same again.
The Hills’ ensuing story of alien abduction changed lives and helped shape the cultural imagination of a generation, especially influencing perception around outer space and space travel. The Hills’ narrative of their abduction and descriptions of their captors influenced how aliens were portrayed in science fiction for decades.
After the release of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ in 1977, the imagery from their story became cemented in popular culture and fueled a growing fascination with the unknown and with aerospace at the height of the Cold War.
After the incident, the Hills later filed an official Air Force Project Blue Book report.
Project Blue Book was the code name for the systematic study of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) by the U.S. Air Force from March 1952 to its termination in December 1969. The project had two goals: to determine if UFOs were a threat to national security, and to scientifically analyze UFO-related data.
Barney Hill died on Feb. 25, 1969, while Betty Hill died on Oct. 17, 2004.
In 2011, the “Betty and Barney Hill Incident Historical Marker” was erected in Lincoln by the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. An official state sign commemorating the first widely reported alien abduction in U.S. history, it stands as one of the state’s most unusual official monuments, explicitly acknowledging the purported close encounter.
Visitors to the Portsmouth Historical Society’s exhibition can expect to learn more about the Hills’ civil rights advocacy, the timeline of the abduction event, and how their experiences have had a lasting effect on how aliens are viewed in pop culture and the Space Race.
A presentation on the legendary alien abduction of Barney and Betty Hill will take place on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle St., Portsmouth, N.H.
The event, part of the Aviation Museum of N.H.’s ‘Exploring Aviation’ series, is open to the public. Admission is $10 per person and Aviation Museum members are free.
Attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets and register in advance through the Aviation Museum of N.H.; however, tickets will also be available on the night of the event.
Attendees are encouraged to register in advance through the Aviation Museum of N.H.; however, tickets will also be available on the night of the event. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling Leah Dearborn at (603) 669-4877. Or use the handy QR code!
Some things to know about visiting the Portsmouth Historical Society:
- Parking at the rear of the building. It’s a small lot; if there’s a problem with the cars parked, please call the front desk at (603) 436-8433. Additional parking can be found directly across the street in the Bridge Street Lot.
- Wheelchair ramp at rear of the building, entrance on Islington Street sidewalk
- Automatic doors at the rear of the building and at the main gallery entrances
- An elevator to access the second floor
- • Universally accessible restrooms on the ground floor
For more information, call (603) 669-4877, or email ldearborn@nhahs.org.