Landscapes of Literature: Henry Wadsworth LongfellowTucked away in a pleasant,residential neighborho

Landscapes of Literature: Henry Wadsworth LongfellowTucked away in a pleasant,residential neighborhood, not too far away from Harvard University inCambridge, Massachusetts, is Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site. Each spring, lilacs bloom on the hedges surrounding Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site (NPS). This site preserves an elegant house which served as headquartersfor General George Washington during the Siege of Boston and as the home of Henry WadsworthLongfellow (1807 -1882), one of the most famous American poets of the 1800s. For 45 years, Longfellow lived here with his family in the Georgianstyle mansion, looking out upon picturesque estate grounds that included a formal garden,woodland walk, lilacs, elm trees at the front of the house, a view to the Charles River, andoutbuildings like the carriage house. River! that in silence windest     Through the meadows, bright and free,Till at length thy rest thou findest     In the bosom of the sea!Four long years of mingled feeling,     Half in rest, and half in strife,I have seen thy waters stealing     Onward, like the stream of life.Thou hast taught me, Silent River!     Many a lesson, deep and long;Thou hast been a generous giver;     I can give thee but a song.Oft in sadness and in illness,     I have watched thy current glide,Till the beauty of its stillness     Overflowed me, like a tide.– excerpt from “To the River Charles” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in Ballads and Other Poems (1842)While in residence, he published eleven poetry collections, two novels, several plays, three epic poems, including Paul Revere’s Ride, The Village Blacksmith, Evangeline, The Song of Hiawatha, and notable translations such as Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy.The Formal GardenLongfellowand his daughter, Alice, shared an interest in landscape architecture,represented by the formal grounds, including a garden on thenortheast end of the property which they carefully designed over time.Longfellow imported a variety of exotic evergreen trees from as far as theHimalayas, Northern Europe, and Oregon with help from renowned botanist AsaGray.In 1847, he sought the assistance of landscape architect Richard Dolbento create a new designed garden.Following Longfellow’s death, the formal garden was renovated by his daughter toits current Colonial Revival layout in 1904-05 and 1925.In 2005-06, the gardenwas restored based on historical documentation in the site’s archives, largelybased on the earlier 1925 rehabilitation by noted landscape architect EllenShipman. A large European linden stands in the east lawn toward the rear of thehouse, where this garden remains on the footprint of the original 1847 design.Formal garden, looking northwest toward arbor.  Wheelchair is visible in garden with occupant (possibly Alice Longfellow, 1888-1928), ca. 1904-C1928. The arbor was added by Martha Brookes Hutcheson (1904) and removed (1932/34).  (National Park Service / Longfellow House Washington’s Headquarters, LONG 7503).ExpressionsFrom the time that he first starting renting two rooms onthe house’s second floor, the letters and journals of Henry WadsworthLongfellow expressed that the history and character of the grounds were asource of both pleasure and inspiration for him. In one journal entry, hewrites, “How glorious these Spring mornings are! I sit by an open window and inhalethe pure morning air, and feel how delightful it is to live! Peach, pear andcherry trees are all in blossom together in the garden.” [1]Later, in an 1843 letter to his father, Longfellow describedthe past and future of the landscape:We havepurchased a mansion here, built before the Revolution, and occupied byWashington as his Headquarters when the American Army was at Cambridge. It is afine old house and I have a strong attachment from having lived in it since Ifirst came to Cambridge. With it are five acres of land. The Charles Riverwinds through the meadows in front and in the rear I yesterday planted anavenue of Linden trees, which already begin to be ten or twelve feet high. Ihave also planted some acorns and the oaks grow for a thousand years, you mayimagine a whole line of little Longfellows, like the shadowy monarchs ofMacbeth, walking under their branches for countless generations, “to the crackof doom,” all blessing the men who planted the oaks.[2]South facade of Longfellow House taken from outside fence on Brattle Street, 1910 (National Park Service, Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters, Archives Number: 3008-1-1-17 ).  Longfellow Summer FestivalIf you find yourself in Cambridge on a summer day, celebrate the history of the cultural landscape and contemporary poets and creators at the annual Longfellow Summer Festival. The festival, a tradition nearly as oldas the park itself, brings music and poetry alive at theLongfellow House on Sunday afternoons through August. For the schedule of upcoming events: 2019 Summer FestivalGarden in bloom at Longfellow House - Washington’s Headquarters NHS (NPS).Learn MoreLongfellow House - Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site Digital ArchiveLongfellow House - Washington’s Headquarters LandscapeCultural Landscape InventoryCultural Landscape Report: Longfellow National Historic Site, Volume 1, Site History and Existing ConditionsCultural Landscape Report: Longfellow National Historic Site, Volume 2, Analysis of Significance and IntegrityPlan Your Trip: Longfellow House - Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site park websiteWhat are cultural landscapes?*Thanks to the Longfellow House - Washington’s Headquarters NHS and others for help preparing this story!* [1]Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Journals, Cambridge, May 20, 1838, Houghton Library,Harvard University, Cambridge, as cited by Evans in Cultural Landscape Reportfor Longfellow National Historic Site, Volume 1: Site History and ExistingConditions, 1993, 33.[2] Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to Ferdinand Freiligrath, November 24, 1843, as cited by Luzader in Historic Structures Report, Longfellow House: Historical Data, 1974, 23. -- source link
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