Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site boasts an impressive archival collection, comprised of over 750,000 individual items ranging from George Washington letters to pamphlets on Soviet theatre. The twenty-six collections are largely made up of the personal papers of members of four interrelated families – Longfellows, Wadsworths, Appletons, and Danas – as well as administrative records of the Longfellow House Trust and the National Park Service. The archival material provides context for much of the house's furnishings and other objects in the museum collections. Park staff, independent scholars, writers and others make use of the archives to research a diverse array of topics ranging from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's views on slavery to early twentieth century garden design.
Each archival collection has its own finding aid, which is used to help researchers locate material related to their topic of interest. Finding aids are available at the main park website. For research assistance, please contact the archivist: LONG_Archives@nps.gov.
The Digital Archives collection contains selected content from the following collections, targeted for its historic and site significance and the interests of researchers. New material will be added as it is scanned and processed.
Thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers and site staff, many of the digitized manuscript items are presented with a full-text transcription in the description, searchable by keyword.
Some material in these collections contains content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Legacy descriptions of the material may also contain outdated and harmful language. Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site is committed to preventing future use of harmful language in staff-generated descriptions and to assessing and updating existing descriptions that are harmful. Read our statement on harmful language.
The papers of Frances Longfellow (1817-1861), second wife of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, show her to be an insightful commentator on 19th century Boston literary culture. Her correspondence, diaries and journals also document her educational philosophy on raising her children, her travels and her interaction with intellectuals of the day. Digitized content includes most of her outgoing correspondence and selected incoming correspondence. (Finding Aid).
The papers of Charles Longfellow (1844-1893) document the life and travels of the oldest child of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They are comprised primarily of letters and journals created by Charles during his service in the Civil War and subsequent travel throughout the world, as well as collected photographs of India, Meiji-era Japan, Southeast Asia, and the south Pacific are of special interest. Digitized content includes selected photograph albums and loose photographs. (Finding Aid).
The papers of Alice Longfellow (1850-1928), the daughter of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, reveal her interest in and support of historic preservation and education, including work with Radcliffe College, the Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes, and the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. Digitized content includes correspondence from students at Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes and collected Civil War material. (Finding Aid).
The Family Papers contain some papers of the poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), and are the main collection of papers of his son Ernest Wadsworth Longfellow (1845-1921), daughters Edith (Longfellow) Dana (1853-1915) and Anne Allegra (Longfellow) Thorp (1855-1934), as well as his sisters Anne (Longfellow) Pierce (1810-1901) and Mary (Longfellow) Greenleaf (1816-1902), his brother Stephen Longfellow (1805-1850), and their families. Digitized content includes selected correspondence of Erica (Thorp) de Berry (1890-1943). (Finding Aid).
The papers of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow "Harry" Dana (1881-1950) contain correspondence, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and booklets, photographs, published and unpublished manuscripts, and various other items produced or collected by Dana. They reflect his personal and research interests in drama, socialism, labor education, and his extensive research on his grandfather's life and works. Much of the collection is 20th century and subject to copyright restrictions. Digitized content includes collected material from the "Miscellaneous Famous People" subseries. (Finding Aid).
The collection consists of 52 drawings and plans documenting actual or proposed changes to the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow house and grounds dating from 1847 to 1936. They include floor plans and elevations of the house and stable and garden designs and planting plans. Some of the additions are related to the kitchen, bathrooms, and the plumbing system thus reflecting the house’s modernization. (Finding Aid).
The Longfellow Family Photograph Collection, 1845-1972, holds photograph albums and loose photographs owned by or associated with members of the Longfellow family including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Sr. and their children. Digitized content includes selected photograph albums. (Finding Aid).
This National Park Service-assembled collection includes photographs depicting interior and exterior views of the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House, 1855-1970. The collection is divided into five series: Exteriors of the House, Interiors of the House, the Grounds, the Objects, and Related Photographs. Digitized content includes all items identified as public domain images. (Finding Aid).