Welcome to ARCH
Experience three centuries of history at the Colonel Paul Wentworth House!
The nonprofit Association for Rollinsford Culture and History (ARCH) maintains the circa 1701 Colonel Paul Wentworth House as an educational and cultural center for Rollinsford and the lower Salmon Falls region. One of New Hampshire’s oldest surviving colonial structures, the Wentworth House hosts living history events, exhibits, hearth-cooked dinners, demonstrations, and other special activities throughout the year.
ARCH to Honor Dr. Kimberly Alexander with Heritage Award
The Association for Rollinsford Culture and History (ARCH) will honor Dr. Kimberly Alexander with the 2026 ARCH Heritage Award at the annual ARCH dinner and auction on Saturday, November 14 at Spring Hill in South Berwick, ME.
According to ARCH board president Lucy Putnam, “The purpose of the ARCH Heritage Award is to recognize those who have made significant contributions to preserving the history and heritage of Rollinsford and the lower Salmon Falls region. Dr. Alexander’s passion for and many contributions to understanding the social and economic history of early New Hampshire, together with her friendship and support for ARCH and the Colonel Paul Wentworth House make her a worthy recipient of this year’s award.”
A noted author, educator, and museum professional in the field of New England history, Dr. Alexander has been a long-time and enthusiastic supporter of ARCH and the Wentworth House. Currently the Director of Museum Studies at UNH, she is deeply engaged in training the next generation of museum professionals and also spearheads the UNH Flax to Linen Project. She and her students have raised and processed small plots of flax on several historic properties in the region and have used those to educate the public on the economic importance of flax growing and processing in early New Hampshire. Through a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council, the Flax to Linen Project has also produced several short videos aimed at educating children and adults about the role of flax in our state’s economic history.
Dr. Alexander’s passion for and many contributions to understanding the social and economic history of early New Hampshire, together with her friendship and support for ARCH and the Colonel Paul Wentworth House make her a worthy recipient of this year’s award.
Prior to joining the faculty at UNH, Dr. Alexander held curatorial positions at several New England museums, including chief curator at Strawbery Banke. She was a consultant for ARCH’s 2017 exhibit, Fashionable Folks, and also co-curated the Woodman Museum’s 2024 exhibit, Combing History in New Hampshire: Growing Flax, Processing Linen, and Making Clothes.
Often in demand as a speaker at conferences and historical sites, this summer Dr. Alexander presented a talk and demonstration at the Wentworth House’s Flax Day, and also gave a lecture on “Resistance Through Fashion: New England, 1760s-1770s” as part of the ARCH 250th lecture series. She is the author of two books on the material culture of New England: Treasures Afoot: Shoe Stories from the Georgian Era, which traces the history of early Anglo-American footwear from the 1740s through the 1790s, and Fashioning the New England Family.
