New Name for Longfellow National Historic Site
The Longfellow National Historic Site in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has a new name: Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site. This name change reflects the fact that the house which became home to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) and his family, had earlier served as the home and headquarters for General George Washington from July 1775 to April 1776.
The National Park Service, which has managed this site since 1972, and the Friends of the Longfellow House hailed the passage of legislation redesignating the site, which President Obama signed into law on December 22, 2010. The bill was first introduced in the Senate by the late Edward M. Kennedy, and then sponsored by John Kerry. In the House its main sponsor was Rep. Michael Capuano, whose district includes the historic site. The Congressman stated, "This name change further recognizes the rich history associated with the Longfellow House which was also General George Washington's Revolutionary War headquarters during the Siege of Boston. This simple renaming more accurately reflects the historical importance of this site."
Superintendent Myra Harrison said, "The site's connection to George Washington had become obscured over time. This redesignation will help restore our links with this important part of our past."
According to Site Manager Jim Shea, "The house was the first major headquarters of the American Revolution and Washington's second-longest headquarters. During this critical first year of the American Revolution, the house became a center for diplomacy and strategy."
Author David McCullough reacted with great satisfaction: "The full historic importance of the grand old, yellow clapboard house on Brattle Street, Cambridge is conveyed at last by its new official name. It is a welcome change indeed, and entirely in the spirit of the worthy poet and the great general, and also, let's not forget, of Senator Ted Kennedy, who, with his abiding love of American history, did more than anyone to bring attention to urgently needed government support for this prime national treasure."
Frances Appleton Wetherell, Longfellow's great-granddaughter, who resides in the Boston area, expressed her delight with the news: "When I think about how much the Longfellow family treasured George Washington's connections to their beloved home, I know how happy they would be that their two names will be forever linked at this historic house."
The Friends of the Longfellow House were particularly active in campaigning for the name change, spearheaded in part by Friends Board Member Robert Cameron Mitchell, who hopes that the Revolutionary War period of the site's history will never be lost. Friends President Heather Moulton acknowledged the group is "grateful to our members of Congress for sponsoring the bill ... and pushing it forward."
Built in 1759, the (Vassall-Craigie) Longfellow House was home to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, America's most popular nineteenth century poet, and his family from 1837-1950. The poet's family actively preserved the house and contents with the formation of the Longfellow House Trust in 1913 and later donated the property to the National Park Service. On October 9, 1972, Congress passed authorizing legislation for this donation based on the family's own language: that the house be preserved "for the benefit and inspiration of the people of the United States as a site of national significance which served as George Washington's Headquarters in 1775-1776 and from 1837-1882 as the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow."
