Maine Memory Network

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.

Drawing Together: Art of the Longfellows

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is best know as a poet, but he also was accomplished in drawing and music. He shared his love of drawing with most of his siblings. They all shared the frequent activity of drawing and painting with their children. The extended family included many professional as well as amateur artists, and several architects.

Picturing Henry

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's popularity in the 19th century is reflected by the number of images of him -- in a variety of media -- that were produced and reproduced, some to go with published works of his, but many to be sold to the public on cards and postcards.

Port of Portland's Custom House and Collectors of Customs

The collector of Portland was the key to federal patronage in Maine, though other ports and towns had collectors. Through the 19th century, the revenue was the major source of Federal Government income. As in Colonial times, the person appointed to head the custom House in Casco Bay was almost always a leading community figure, or a well-connected political personage.

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - People of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House

"People of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Portland, ca. 1880Maine Historical Society Only two families occupied the…"

People, Pets & Portraits

Informal family photos often include family pets -- but formal, studio portraits and paintings also often feature one person and one pet, in formal attire and pose.

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

"… from the Lewiston Journal, 1893 Wadsworth-Longfellow House Nearly HiddenMaine Historical Society When Peleg Wadsworth built his house in…"

Music in Maine - Longfellow Family Music

"… Wadsworth Longfellow spent his childhood in the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, nurtured by family members who read avidly, drew, painted, played…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Longfellow Era: 1807-1901

"He was the second of eight children born to Stephen and Zilpah Longfellow. At age 13 he published his first poem in the Portland Gazette, signing it…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - Streetscape, 1790-1930

"The Wadsworth-Longfellow house had become a historical house museum in 1901 following the death of Anne Longfellow Pierce."

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The House, 1786-1960

"View slideshow: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House, 1786-1960 The images in the accompanying slideshow show the evolution of the Wadsworth-Longfellow…"

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

"The Wadsworth-Longfellow house is unusual – it is richly supported by extensive records gathered by family members and placed in museum and library…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Wadsworth Era: 1786-1807

"… Wadsworth; he was born in the Longfellow-Wadsworth house. Alexander served in the U.S. Navy for more than 40 years, joining in 1804 as a midshipman…"

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

"Brown, Preble block, Portland, 1877Maine Historical Society John Corey, a dry goods merchant with a store on Middle Street, built the house around…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - Census, Timeline

"… every 10 years, show the changing nature of the Longfellow household -- and the changing nature of the neighborhood and city surrounding the house…"

Of Note: Maine Sheet Music

<i>Of Note: Maine Sheet Music</i> features captivating covers of original sheet music along with stories about Maine connections to the songs. Before people had easy access to popular music from records, radios, and the internet, they played songs of the day on instruments at home, using sheet music purchased at music stores. Iconic Maine subjects like lobsters, pine trees, and winter were perfect for lyrics sung by luminaries like Rudy Vallée of Westbrook, and intricate artwork of Maine's landscape graced the sheet music covers.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Quenching the Thirst

"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Craigie House, Cambridge, 1881NPS, Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site Henry Wadsworth…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Politics and Enforcement

"… ppoverty, and I do not see how Christ can forgive me." Murphy soon became a powerful voice for temperance."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery

"… in a respectable house was not the business for me to start as a young man desiring the best wishes of the best people." - John Martin X…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - A Call to Temperance

"… and only two years old...he catched her away from me and shook her furiously, dashed her down over a chair, and went out the door with an oath…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking Implements

"… in the foundation of the museum's McLellan-Sweat House. X Decanter, 1785-1800 Ireland Blown glass, engraved Rum Courtesy of Arlene Palmer…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Taverns, People, and Scenes

"Running a licensed house was one of the few trades open to women and the tough-minded Mrs. Greele achieved legendary status by extinguishing her…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Influential & Interesting Documents

"X Abstract of the Laws Respecting Licensed Houses, Lincoln County, May 1803 Collections of Maine Historical Society Broadside 281 This remarkable…"