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Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site preserves a remarkable Georgian house whose occupants shaped our nation. It was a site of colonial enslavement and community activism, George Washington’s first long-term headquarters of the American Revolution, and the place where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his canon of 19th-century American literature.
Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site is a home with deep connections to our nation’s past. First built as a home for sugar plantation owner and enslaver John Vassall, Jr., it was then used by General George Washington as his headquarters during the siege of Boston. Over 60 years later, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow would raise his family and write his most famous poems— shaping early America’s values and ideals, and creating a legacy that touches us even today.
Through talks by leading historians and authors, the series will explore the evolution of the public memory of George Washington.
The annual Longfellow Student Poetry Contest is accepting submissions from 3rd-12th grade students through April 6, 2026.
The Longfellow House is closed seasonally from November through late May. Limited group tours are available during the off season.
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The Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House was made significant by the people who lived and worked within its walls for its 191 years as a home.
Explore stories of 1700s-era slavery and freedom, wealth and politics, architecture, and a changing landscape.
Explore revolutionary-era stories of nation-building, leadership, and the contradictions at the heart of America’s founding.
Explore Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poetic legacy, along with the home, family, and events that shaped his life and work in the 1800s.
Explore the history of the poet’s descendants and their family’s legacy of preservation, activism, and cultural change in the 1900s.
Last updated: February 6, 2026
