Download the NPS App and explore how our landscape has developed over time! To take the tour:
Download the free NPS App onto your mobile device. The NPS App is currently available for iOS- and Android-powered devices. It can be downloaded for free through the App Store and Google Play.
Find Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters in the app, and select "Self-Guided Tours: Changing Landscape Tour."
Through brief text, interactive activities and accompanying audio, you can walk the grounds, play games, and read stories of an ever-changing landscape.The activities on this tour can accommodate an individual or groups of visitors.
Supplemental activities can be found below on this page.
Here for the activities? Scroll down and find all of the materials you need to accompany the app!
Longfellow Park
Use these lists of native and nonnative species to explore Longfellow Park and the surroundings. Do you see any of the species on these lists? Can you imagine which might have been here before Longfellow House was built? Keep an eye out for these critters while you explore the rest of the stops too! You might even be lucky to spot a rabbit or a chipmunk.
Non-native Species
European Starling
Non-native. European starlings were first released in New York City’s Central Park in 1908 as part of a project to bring all of Shakespeare’s cited birds to America. Now, you can find groups of starlings all over shuffling through the grass.
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
Non-native. Eastern cottontail rabbits were introduced to America before 1900. While the area is home to the native New England cottontail, chances are the rabbits you see are eastern cottontails. They can be found all over Longfellow munching on plants.
European Honeybee
Non-native. European honeybees were first introduced to America for their honey, beeswax, and pollination. Most honeybees belong to beekeeper hives, while some build nests in tree hollows and the corners of buildings.
Cabbage White Butterfly
Non-native. This Eurasian species was first introduced to America in Quebec City in 1860 and New York in 1868. Cabbage white butterflies are the most common white butterfly in Massachusetts.
Native Species
American Robin
Native. American robins are some of the most common birds in all of North America. Robin populations have grown more over the years due to them thriving in suburban areas. Look for these birds around the lawn looking for grubs!
Common Grackle
Native. Grackles are the largest member of the blackbird family in Massachusetts. These birds are notable for their iridescent heads that gleam in the sunshine, and can be found foraging in the lawn.
Mourning Dove
Native. Mourning doves got their names from the soft cooing sounds they make (chances are you have heard one without realising it!) These greysih brown songbirds like to hang out in the trees and are around the same size as pigeons.
Blue Jay
Native. Blue Jays are some of the most recognizable species in the area, with their bright feathers and large size. Technically part of the crow family, blue jays are smart and vocal, known for their loud squawks.
Chipping Sparrow
Native. One of many small birds that flit around the site, chipping sparrows are some of the tiniest sparrows. These birds can be identified by the brown crown on their heads and the black line behind their eyes.
American Crow
Native. Crows are some of the most intelligent birds, even known to mimic words as parrots do. These birds are often found in groups, and can be distinguished by their recognizable caw.
Northern Cardinal
Native. Year round residents of Massachusetts, cardinals are another easily recognizable bird. Often found in pairs, males are bright red, while females are usually brown, but both have a black face and red beak.
Wild Turkey
Native. Even here in the city, we get occasional visits from wild turkeys! Once almost extinct, wild turkeys can now be spotted all over Massachusetts. If encountered, make sure to keep your distance, but listen for their peeping!
Eastern Chipmunk
Native. Chipmunks, thought to be named from the indegenous Chippewa's word, 'chetamnon', can be found skittering around the sides of buildings foraging for food to store away for Winter. Spook a chipmunk and you might hear quite a squeak!
Grey Squirrel
Native. Most may be familiar with the grey squirrel, who can adapt to just about any environment. You can spot squirrels bounding through the lawns and scurrying up trees.
Bumblebee
Native. The fuzziest bees in the area, bumblebees spend their days buzzing around the flowers, gathering nectar and pollen. Most bumblebees die throughout the Winter, but Queen Bees survive in leaf litter, so that they can rebuild their colonies in the Spring.
Forecourt
Look at the house from where you are standing, and compare it to this image of what the house used to look like. Can you spot the parts of the house that have changed over time? There is an answer key included in case you need help!
East Lawn
Do you have a partner to play a game with? Here are some Victorian parlor games, entertainment that the Longfellow family might have enjoyed in the 19th century. Below the game instructions, you'll also find some of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poetry to read while you you enjoy the grounds as the Longfellow family once did.
The Laughing Game
The goal of this game is to maintain a serious composure and make your partner laugh! There were many versions of this game, where certain words or phrases are spoken back and forth until one person breaks into laughter. Try to maintain a serious expression, and test these versions…
Ha, ha, ha
Face your partner/s
Partner A will begin by saying “Ha”.
Each turn will add a new “Ha”, so Partner B will respond with “Ha ha”, followed by “ha ha ha”, and so on.
If you laugh or even smile, you lose! Keep playing until there is only one winner remaining.
Ha, Ho, Hee
Face your partner/s
Take turns saying “Ha”, “Ho”, and “Hee”. Partner A says “Ha’, Partner B responds with “Ho” and so on.
Try using different voices or subtle expressions to make your partner laugh first!
Word Games
Longfellow House is full of words, from poetry, to novels, to letters. Spoken word games would have been popular activities for 19th century parties and gatherings, and could have been regular entertainment for the children.
I Have A Basket
Face your partner, or form a circle.
Partner A will begin by saying “I have a basket”
Partner B will respond “What is inside?”
Partner C (or A, if you only have 2 players!) will then name what is in the basket, choosing an object that begins with the letter A.
Repeat this process, but each time you name the object, do it in alphabetical order. For example, the second round might look like: A: “I have a basket” B: “What is in it?” A: “Berries”
If a player cannot think of a word immediately, or uses the wrong letter, they will leave the game.
Crambo
Start with two teams, or two people.
Team A will choose a secret word. Do not reveal it to the opposing team!
Once Team A has decided on a word, they will tell Team B a word that rhymes with it. (tip: try to choose a secret word that has a lot of rhyming words!)
Team B can attempt to guess the word by describing its meaning (you can also try a charades version called ‘Dumb Crambo’ where you attempt to act out the meaning)
If Team B does not guess correctly, the game will continue on, back and forth.
Example: A: “I know a word that rhymes with start” B: “Is it delicious? A: “No, it is not a tart.” B: “Is it part of the body?” A: “Yes, it is a heart!”
Poems
The Tides
I saw the long line of the vacant shore,
The sea-weed and the shells upon the sand,
And the brown rocks left bare on every hand,
As if the ebbing tide would flow no more.
Then heard I, more distinctly than before,
The ocean breathe and its great breast expand,
And hurrying came on the defenceless land
The insurgent waters with tumultuous roar.
All thought and feeling and desire, I said,
Love, laughter, and the exultant joy of song
Have ebbed from me forever! Suddenly o'er me
They swept again from their deep ocean bed,
And in a tumult of delight, and strong
As youth, and beautiful as youth, upbore me.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A Psalm of Life
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream! ?
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Hymn To The Night
I heard the trailing garments of the Night
Sweep through her marble halls!
I saw her sable skirts all fringed with light
From the celestial walls!
I felt her presence, by its spell of might,
Stoop o'er me from above;
The calm, majestic presence of the Night,
As of the one I love.
I heard the sounds of sorrow and delight,
The manifold, soft chimes,
That fill the haunted chambers of the Night
Like some old poet's rhymes.
From the cool cisterns of the midnight air
My spirit drank repose;
The fountain of perpetual peace flows there,--
From those deep cisterns flows.
O holy Night! from thee I learn to bear
What man has borne before!
Thou layest thy finger on the lips of Care,
And they complain no more.
Peace! Peace! Orestes-like I breathe this prayer!
Descend with broad-winged flight,
The welcome, the thrice-prayed for, the most fair,
The best-beloved Night!
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
