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 is now open for the season, Wednesday-Sunday 10:00 to 4:30pm. Tours occur at 10:30, 11:30, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00.

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.

Longfellow Reads Longfellow
CD now available
www.laynelongfellow.com
Dr. Layne Longfellow began to read Henry Longfellow's verse after retiring from a prominent career presenting... More.