Maine Memory Network

Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Portland, ca. 1880

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1880 Location: Portland Media: Photographic print

Doorway, Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Portland, ca. 1902

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1902 Location: Portland Media: Photographic print

8 Hanover Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Carrie B. Wadsworth Use: Dwelling - Two family

Assessor's Record, 485 Congress Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Maine Historical Society Use: Dwelling - Single family

Hanover Street Garage, Portland, 1945

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1945 Location: Portland Client: City of Portland Architect: Wadsworth, Boston & Tuttle

Cushman Baking Company layout, Portland, 1961-1962

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1961–1962 Location: Portland Client: Cushman Baking Co. Architect: Wadsworth and Boston

Home: The Longfellow House & the Emergence of Portland

The Wadsworth-Longfellow house is the oldest building on the Portland peninsula, the first historic site in Maine, a National Historic Landmark, home to three generations of Wadsworth and Longfellow family members -- including the boyhood home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The history of the house and its inhabitants provide a unique view of the growth and changes of Portland -- as well as of the immediate surroundings of the home.

Longfellow: The Man Who Invented America

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a man and a poet of New England conscience. He was influenced by his ancestry and his Portland boyhood home and experience.

NPS, Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters Historic Site

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland

"… Nearly HiddenMaine Historical Society When Peleg Wadsworth built his house in 1785, what is now Congress Street in Portland was on the rural…"

Reverend Thomas Smith of First Parish Portland
by Kristina Minister, Ph.D.

Pastor, Physician, Real Estate Speculator, and Agent for Wabanaki Genocide

Portland History: "My Lost Youth" - Longfellow's Portland, Then and Now

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow loved his boyhood home of Portland, Maine. Born on Fore Street, the family moved to his maternal grandparents' home on Congress Street when Henry was eight months old. While he would go on to Bowdoin College and travel extensively abroad, ultimately living most of his adult years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he never forgot his beloved Portland. Years after his childhood, in 1855, he wrote "My Lost Youth" about his undiminished love for and memories of growing up in Portland. This exhibit, using the poem as its focus, will present the Portland of Longfellow's boyhood. In many cases the old photos will be followed by contemporary images of what that site looked like 2004. Following the exhibit of 68 slides are five suggested lessons that can be adapted for any grade level, 3–12.