Union Church in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, was built in 1865 for a congregation founded in 1810 that had first met in homes and later in a smaller meeting house. The church remained active until after World War I, with its last service held in 1937. Declared defunct in 1940 after membership dwindled to fourteen, the property was donated to the Portsmouth Historical Society. It now serves as a local history museum housing most of the society’s collections, including a Julia Ward Howe exhibit with furniture from her Portsmouth summer home. A 1725 schoolhouse beside it adds another early chapter to the site’s history.