Exploring Portland, Maine #1- The Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow House

In June we took a day trip to Portland, Maine to explore several historic places and landmarks and today's blog is about the first of those. In today's blog we'll tell you about a famous poet, Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow of the 1800s,  give you a look at the inside of his house and his backyard gardens.  The house is located in what is now downtown Portland, Maine. 

(Photo: Rob and Tom inside the Wadsworth-Longfellow dining room)

ABOUT THE HOUSE - The house was constructed in 1786 in a Colonial Revival Architectural style, by the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's grandfather, General Peleg Wadsworth. It was originally two stories high with a gabled roof but after a fire, Longfellow's father Stephen added the third floor and changed the roof configuration in 1815. It is three stories high, constructed of brick. The symmetrical facade contains little ornamentation except the arched windows on the first and second floors and the entry porch sheltering the door. Doric columns support a projecting pediment that covers a simple wood paneled door. 

WHO IS HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) was one of the most famous and best-loved American poets and educators of the 19th century. As a professor at Harvard University, he pioneered comparative literature. 

(Photo: This painting of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow hangs in the house. Credit: R.G.)

NOT HAUNTED - One thing I usually note is whether or not a place has a resident ghost. Neither Tom nor I sensed any earthbound ghost in the house. Fortunately, no one opted to stay behind. 

UPSTAIRS BEDROOM - One of the upstairs bedrooms had a wallpaper showing a trellis covered with Ivy, because the relative who stayed there was bedridden and missed seeing the gardens behind the house.

In that same room was a round table where Henry was known to compose some of his poems. The docent said his first poem was submitted in school and the instructor was known to have said "this boy will never be a poet." 

WHEN DID LONGFELLOW LIVE IN THE HOUSE?  Longfellow lived in the house from age eight months to fifteen when he entered Bowdoin College. He continued to regularly visit his family at the home until his death. His younger sister Anne Longfellow Pierce left the house to the Maine Historical Society in 1901. The house retains its original furnishings and memorabilia from the family. Designated a National Historic Landmark, it is significant as both the oldest surviving structure on the Portland peninsula and the childhood home of Longfellow.    

(Photo Above: One of the upstairs bedrooms. Below, the kitchen.)

NO RUNNING WATER - We learned that the house had no running water. Instead there was a well located outside of the kitchen. So, as Dolly Parton said of her childhood home, "If we wanted running water, we'd have to run out and get it." 

(Photo: The dining room, also used as a temporary law office by Henry's father for a time, thus the bookcase) 

SOME KEY FACTS ABOUT HENRY - 

1) He was a core member of the Fireside Poets—a group of New England writers whose work was so accessible and uplifting that families would read them by the fire.

2) World Renowned

: He achieved unprecedented international fame and was the first American to be honored with a bust in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.

(Photo: The parlor on the first floor)

3) He is best known for memorable narrative works like "Paul Revere's Ride" and The Song of Hiawatha. His most enduring poems include “The Village Blacksmith,” “A Psalm of Life,” and the epic Evangeline.

4) He was also a Linguist and a Translator! Fluent in several European languages, he was the first American to complete a full translation of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.

THE BACKYARD GARDEN - It's a perfectly manicured pocket garden that recreates 19th-century charm. It's a hidden gem often used by locals as a quiet retreat, reading spot, or location for the museum's "Beer in the Garden" series.

TODAY YOU CAN TOUR THE HOUSE - The Wadsworth-Longfellow House is a historic house and museum at 489 Congress Street, Portland, Maine and is operated by the Maine Historical Society. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, and administratively added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. 

NEXT: THE MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR