Things To Do

NPS photo/Sam DiMatteo

Gardens and Grounds

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters sits on two acres of historic grounds, including a shaded lawn and formal garden. The garden and grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk; all are welcome to enjoy them free of charge.

Our lawn is your lawn! Bring a book, pack a picnic, or stop by our Visitor Center to borrow games, art supplies, and books for toddlers through adults.

During the summer, the east lawn is home to the Longfellow Summer Arts Festival and other community events. Visit the event calendar to learn more.

Community Events

Historically, this house was a hub for literature and the arts. Today, Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters aims to carry on this legacy as a vibrant public gathering place. Community events take place throughout the year, including:

• Longfellow Summer Arts Festival
• Annual Juneteenth Gathering
• Family Fun Saturdays
• Fall Lecture Series
• Queer Arts in Parks
• Holiday Open House
• Longfellow Birthday Celebration
• Student Poetry Contest

Visit the complete calendar of events.

 

NPS photo/Sam DiMatteo

Visit the Historic House

Visits to the inside of the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House are by free, conversational guided tour during the open season. National Park Rangers offer hourly and express tours, as well as Deep Dive tours exploring complex topics in the site's history and collections. Learn more about tour times, topics, and reservations.

Visitors to the historic house can also visit the changing exhibit gallery featuring unique objects and stories from the site's museum collection. Learn more about the current exhibit.

 

Archive Appointments

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters boasts an impressive archival collection, comprised of over 750,000 individual items, 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. Research in the archives is by advanced appointment only. Please email the archivist for more information about on-site research opportunities.

Selected digitized content from these archival collections are available on our NPGallery Digital Archives website.