HISTORIC HOUSE
POSTCARD TOUR
The poe's childhood home

No, that's not Moses. It is our Maine neighbor Henry Wadsworth Longfellow looking fearsome in his elder years. His Portland home is adjacent to the Maine Historical Society. Since photos are not allowed inside, we found these great old postcards in an antique shop.

Wadsworth-Longfellow House
Portland, Maine
111 early postcard on two web pages
Maine Historical Society

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882) grew up here in his grandfather’s home. Longfellow was at the top of his game back when poets were a popular as rock stars. His top "hits" included Hiawatha, The Courtship of Myles standish, Evangeline and Tales of as Wayside Inn (including "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" and Portsmouth’s own "Lady Wentworth").

The building was among the very first brock homes in Porltand, Maine (then called Falmouth Neck). It was completed in 1786 by Longfellow’s grandfather, a Revolutionary War general. Longfellow’s mother Zilpah Wadsworth was among 11 other siblings and raised her eight children here. Longfellow was living here at age 13 when he published his first poem in the Portland newspaper – a drama based on history that was to become his most popular format.. Longfellow later attended Bowdoin college nearby with classmates Nathaniel Hawthorne and Franklin Pierce, all from the Class of 1825. Longfellow taught at Bowdoin and then at Harvard as his career as an author continued to gain momentum. Longfellow was married twice and both of his wives died tragically.

 Anne Longfellow Pierce lived in the house until her death in 1901. Although the house had been renovated and a floor added during her parent’s era, Anne Pierce made few major changes. The house was opened as a museum the same year, one of the first in Maine, and so nicely represents a dwelling of the mid-19^th century – still not converted to gas heat and without indoor plumbing.

We found the following set of postcards at a flea market in Harpswell, Maine. The rooms are amazingly the same as the were to early 20^th century pilgrims who came to visit the famous poet’s home. The postcard collection is similar to the series available for the Thomas Bailey Aldrich house in Potsmouth, NH, also publisher online here.

Photo of Longfellow courtesy of the Longfellow National Historic site in Cambrdige, MA.

CONTINUE THE VISIT
Click for more SIX more early postcards of the Longfellow House