Longfellow National Historic Site, Volume 1, Site History and Existing Conditions: Cultural Landscape Report, National Park Service

Evans, Catherine; NPS North Atlantic Region

This report relies as much on primary sources as it does on earlier studies of the house and landscape of the Longfellow National Historical Site. It began as a review of the most recent studies and progressed as pertinent subjects, previously uncovered or partially covered, were identified. The documentation contained in earlier reports obviated the need for in-depth research on the property for Henry W. Longfellow’s years at 105 Brattle Street. However, to understand the evolution of property before and after his residency in the house, it was necessary to document the evolution of the property from colonial days to the present. As a first step in preparing the site history, historic periods were established. These periods correspond with years of residency or management and structured both the report and the research. Prior to Longfellow’s residency, the property associated with the house encompassed a much larger area. Deeds and probate records in the Middlesex County Court House and the Massachusetts State Archives were used as primary source material to find information on these early boundaries and land use. Robert Nylander’s research, on the Brattle Street area in particular, which is on file at the Cambridge Historical Commission, supplemented this work. This information, in combination with historic maps and plans of the area, was used to generate a diagrammatic plan of the original boundaries of the property. Subsequent changes in land use, boundaries, and specific features were researched and documented in a similar way. Period plans and diagrams of the property were generated by checking deeds and City of Cambridge plans for basic information on boundaries and use. More detailed plans were generated where and when information was consistently specific. This occurred primarily for periods after the 1880s, and was due to the advent of photography and the involvement of architects and landscape architects with the Longfellow family and property. Detailed information on each period of property owner was found in a range of archives. Information on Andrew Craigie’s residency was found at The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, which is the depository for his papers. The Craigie property was the subject of two mathematical dissertations at Harvard University (1804 and 1815), and the product of both was a perspective drawing of the property. These are in the Pusey Library at Harvard University. The appearance of the site during Longfellow’s time has been well studied, and primary material on Longfellow’s residency is readily available. Houghton Library, also at Harvard University, is the location of Henry W. Longfellow’s papers. In addition, family letters, photographs and drawings are located in the archives at the Longfellow National Historical Site. The collections at the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities and the Boston Athenaeum also have many photographs of the house, documenting its appearance well into the twentieth century. Changes made to the garden in 1904 were photographed by Martha Hutcheson. Her photographic negatives and papers are located in the library at the Morris County Park Commission in New Jersey. Plans of subsequent changes to the garden by both Ellen Shipman and Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow are in the archives at the Longfellow National Historic Site. The survey of existing conditions of the property was conducted by Boston University in the fall of 1991. Data were digitally recorded and included UTM coordinates, spot elevations, and landscape features. The topographic information included in this report is based on the 1935 HABS work. The survey data was checked in the field and manually redrawn.

Longfellow National Historic Site, Volume 1, Site History and Existing Conditions: Cultural Landscape Report, National Park Service

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