Celebrating the Conservation History of the Longfellow House—Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site

The Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site is known for having served as the headquarters for George Washington during the siege of Boston, as well as for being the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow, his wife Fanny Appleton Longfellow, their children, and their friends were instrumental in the conservation of land running from the Longfellow House down to the Charles River, and across the river to an area known as Soldiers Field. These lands comprise part of a corridor of open space that also includes the Cambridge Cemetery, the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge and Watertown, Aberdeen Avenue in Cambridge, and the Fresh Pond Reservation. Today, much of this land remains protected from development, and the National Historic Site is an important part of the larger conservation history of Cambridge and Boston.

Celebrating the publication of the article “A View of the Charles: How an American Poet’s Love for His Cambridge Estate Conserved a Piece of the City’s Most Desirable Land,” the Lincoln Institute invites you, in person at 113 Brattle Street or online via Zoom, to join this presentation about the history and conservation legacy of the Longfellow House. Following a presentation from ILCN Director and coauthor Jim Levitt, staff from the National Parks Service will lead a tour of the grounds of the Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site for in-person participants.

Doors for the in-person event will open at 5:45 p.m.