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The Friends of the Longfellow House is a not-for-profit voluntary group founded in 1994 to work cooperatively with the Park Service
to benefit and support the Longfellow National Historic Site. We are gradually expanding our web site which contains information
about the Friends and our activities and content designed to complement the National Park Service's official website
for the Longfellow National Historic Site .
The Longfellow House was originally built in 1759 by John Vassall,
a wealthy royalist. In 1774, he and his family hastily abandoned
the house and fled to British protection in Boston on the eve of the
American Revolution. Later, the house was used by George Washington as
his headquarters for almost nine months during the siege of Boston in
1775-76. During this time he was visited by Benjamin Franklin, Abigail
and John Adams, and other revolutionary leaders.
In 1791 the 
house was purchased by Andrew Craigie, the Apothecary General during the revolutionary war and a shrewd speculator
in real estate (until he was ruined). He added the side porches and extended the back of the house.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the renowned American poet, occupied the
house from 1837 to 1882. When he married Frances ("Fanny") Appleton in
1843, her father bought 
the house for them as a wedding present, Longfellow having previously rented rooms in the house. That year she wrote her brother
regarding the house: "...we are full of plans & projects with no desire, however, to change a feature of the old countenance
which Washington has rendered sacred."
The house was a favorite gathering place for many prominent philosophers
and writers 
including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles
Dickens. Longfellow's descendants preserved the house and the poet's furnishings
and collections until 1962 when they presented them to the nation. The
Longfellow National Historic Site is now maintained by the
National Park Service.
Downstairs the house is much as it was in Longfellow's time and offers an exceptional glimpse of intellectual life in the 19th
century. At a recent talk on his new book, 1776, David McCullough urged the audience to visit the house and imagine the great
18th century events that took place in the room George Washington used as his office for more than eight months at the beginning
of the Revolutionary War.
The collections, extensive archives, and historic grounds make this house
a unique repository of American history. |
 HOUSE HOURS FOR THE SEASON
2009 Season Dates
The House season for visitors has ended as of October 18, 2009. However:
The gardens and grounds are open to the public from dawn to dusk every day all year.
The Longfellow NHS archives are open for researchers by appointment. Call (617) 491-1054.
LATEST BULLETIN
See the latest issue of the Longfellow House Bulletin.
 CELEBRATE PRESIDENT'S DAY
Special Tours and Two Illustrated Washington-Related Talks
February and March, 2010 Longfellow Carriage House 105 Brattle St. Cambridge
Special tours of the Longfellow House on February 19-20.
J. L. Bell speaks on Saturday, February 20 at 4p.m. "CAMBRIDGE: BIRTHPLACE OF THE AMERICAN NAVY?"
Robert Cameron Mitchell speaks on Wednesday, March 17 at 6:30 p.m. "PUZZLES OF DORCHESTER HEIGHTS: Washington Ends the Siege of Boston"
Limited seating. RSVP to 617-876-4491 or email nancy_jones@nps.gov. Free of charge.
 Longfellow's Annual Birthday Lecture and Event
Special 150th anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 10am at Story Chapel, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge
Join Nick Littlefield, former advisor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and Charles Ansbacher, conductor of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, for a multimedia presentation of the late Senator Kennedy's narration of Longfellow's famous poem to the orchestra's musical setting. Tea and coffee served at 9:30 a.m. After the program stay for birthday cake in the chapel.
Brief wreath-laying ceremony at the Longfellow family gravesite follows the presentation. Event free of charge.
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