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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. |
 Longfellow 2008 MOTHERS DAY LILAC WEEKEND CELEBRATION
The fourth annual Lilac Mothers' Day Weekend at Longfellow House On May 10 and 11, 2008 was a great success thanks to the weather, the Longfellow House lilac collection, and the efforts of Friends board members Laura Nash and Sarah Jolliffe.
The newly "refurbished" pergola was officially opened. We are happy to have this impressive structure once again gracing the garden as it did eight decades or so ago.
Special thanks to Dr. David Barnett of Mt. Auburn Cemetery for a demonstration/lecture on the pruning and horticulture of lilacs and Mona Mckindley, the NPS horticulturalist responsible for planting and maintaining the renovated Alice Longfellow garden, for a talk on the garden and a demonstration of how to maintain roses.
Support the Garden while Honoring a Woman You Admire
Donation Form
Donations for garden maintenance always welcome.
Send this form to the Friends of the Longfellow House, 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge MA 02138. Donation forms also available at the Visitor's Center, Longfellow House.
 HOUSE HOURS FOR THE SEASON
2008 Season Begins May!
Beginning May 1 to June 3, tours will be offered on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30 and 11:30 AM, and at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00 PM.
From June 4 through September, tours will be offered Wednesdays through Sundays at 10:30 and 11:30 AM, and at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00 PM.
Special group and student tours are available, staff permitting. Please call (617) 876-4491 for information.
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.
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