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Each participating teacher did extensive archival research on a literary or historical aspect of Longfellow's work and created the teaching resources featured in the "for teachers" section of this website.
The website is intended to be a comprehensive collection of Longfellow-related information, as well as a resource for researchers, educators, and anyone with an interest in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a commanding figure in the cultural life of nineteenth-century America.
Also included in this section are a filmography, a list of illustrators, and publication dates. The program culminated with the teachers' own research projects. | His Homes Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived in one of two houses for most of his life: the brick structure in Portland, Maine, where he grew up; and Craigie House, in Cambridge, Mass., where he lived from 1837 until his death in 1882.
Born in Portland, Maine in 1807, he became a national literary figure by the 1850s, and a world-famous personality by the time of his death in 1882. The restoration page provides a description of the 2000-2002 restoration.
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HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
About the Project
The Maine Historical Society preserves the heritage and history of Maine: the stories of Maine people, the traditions of Maine communities, and the record of Maine's place in a changing world.
It includes a searchable database of his poems, lesson plans for teachers, a filmography, and more.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
The Wadsworth-Longfellow House
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Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Portland, Maine
Within its walls lived four generations of one remarkable family that made significant contributions to the political, literary, and cultural life of New England and the United States.
Mrs. Pierce, widowed at an early age, lived in the house until her death in 1901. In June 2002 the Maine Historical Society celebrated the centennial of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House as Maine's first house museum. Click here to learn more about the major developments in his life, from his boyhood in Portland up to his elder years as a celebrity poet and grieving widower.
The only single-family residence to survive downtown Congress Street's change from a mixed commercial and residential neighborhood on the edge of town to an urban business district, it is the oldest standing structure on the Portland peninsula.
Today, the Wadsworth-Longfellow House is a three-story, brick structure set in the heart of Portland's downtown.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), grew up in the house and went on to become one of the most famous men of his time.
General Peleg Wadsworth, built the house in 1785-1786, and the last person to live there was Anne Longfellow Pierce, Henry's younger sister.
By the time of his death in 1882, he was known throughout the world. At the same time, he was rooted in American life and history, which charged his imagination with untried themes and made him ambitious for success.
This website examines Longfellow's life and work, his homes and his family.
At that time, in accordance with a deed she executed in 1895, the house passed to the Maine Historical Society to be preserved as a memorial to her famous brother and their family.
Virtually all of the household items and artifacts are original to the Wadsworth and Longfellow families.
Furnishings from the four generations illustrate changes in style, technology, and attitude over the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Wadsworth-Longfellow House is also an important architectural artifact of New England's past.
About Henry Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, in 1807. For more information on these and other sources, please see the bibliography.In this section
Born in Portland, Maine, in 1807, he became a national literary figure by the 1850s, and a world- famous personality by the time of his death in 1882.
He was a traveler, a linguist, and a romantic who identified with the great traditions of European literature and thought. Click here to learn more about his maternal grandparents, Peleg and Elizabeth Wadsworth; his parents, Stephen and Zilpah Longfellow; and his sister, Anne Longfellow Pierce.
At the same time, he was rooted in American life and history, which charged his imagination with untried themes and made him ambitious for success.
The following four pages trace the major developments of Longfellow's life from his youth in Portland where he first demonstrated his literary talents, through his years studying languages in Europe and teaching at Bowdoin College, to his move to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he taught at Harvard, married Fanny Appleton, became a father, and wrote many of his most enduring poems; and finally into his elder years as both a celebrity poet and a grieving widower.
The information on the following pages was drawn largely from Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life by Charles Calhoun and from the essay by Richard D'Abate, "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: A Literary Man" in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and His Portland Home.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
The Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a commanding figure in the cultural life of nineteenth-century America.