Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site
Massachusetts
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
6 h fully dark
Crowds
low
Open today
Closed
Operating Hours: closed Oct 29 – May 21
Entrance
Free entry
Voicemail Down
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Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site preserves a remarkable Georgian house whose occupants shaped our nation. It was a site of colonial enslavement and community activism, George Washington’s first long-term headquarters of the American Revolution, and the place where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his canon of 19th-century American literature.
Activities
Topics
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
Hours for the visitor center and house at Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site vary by season. The grounds are open year-round, dawn to dusk. In the summer, the site is open Friday to Monday. During the winter season, the house is closed to the public, with tours available by appointment only.
⚠ Operating Hours: closed Oct 29 – May 21
Generally open:
summerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 (617) 876-4491
✉ long_info@nps.govConditions
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Feb, Dec
Typical crowds: low
Weather now: ⛅ Partly cloudy, 89°F
☁️ 92°/71°
☁️ 95°/73°
🌦️ 94°/73°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
31%
Feb
34%
Mar
50%
Apr
68%
May
96%
Jun
100%
Jul
90%
Aug
87%
Sep
83%
Oct
71%
Nov
51%
Dec
40%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Things to do
Guided Tour of the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House
Watch "The Past and Present Here Unite"
Explore Temporary Exhibits in the Longfellow House
Summer Festival · Most events last 60-90 minutes. Some special events are longer. Participants are welcome to arrive and leave any time.
Art in the Landscape
Visitor centers
Visitor Center
Accessibility
11 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
People & stories
Figures tied to Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site — each spans a cross-park journey.
Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr.
— Architecture, Architect, Arts And CraftsArtemas Ward
— American Revolution, Continental Army, GeneralsBenjamin Church
— American Revolution, Continental Army, SpiesCharles Lee
— French And Indian War, American Revolution, Continental ArmyCharles Sumner
— Abolition, Politicians, Civil RightsCoatney (Arrington) Battle
— Education, Hampton Institute, African AmericanCuba Vassall
— Freedom Seekers, Abolition, SlaveryDarby Vassall
— Boston, Abolitionists, African American HistoryPassport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Visitor Center
Places to see
Alice's Garden
audio
Cambridge Common
audio
Christ Church Cambridge
audio
Dexter Pratt House
Fort Washington (MA)
Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesel House
audio
Longfellow Bridge
Longfellow Carriage House
Longfellow Garden
audio
Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters
audio
Longfellow House Forecourt
audio
Longfellow Park
audioAudio & media
🎧 Activity 12: Preserving and Modernizing ↗ · 1 mintranscript
🎧 Activity 10: Then and Now ↗ · 1 mintranscript
🎧 Activity 1: Family Tree ↗ · 0 mintranscript
🎧 Audio Junior Ranger: Conclusion ↗ · 0 mintranscript
🎧 Activity 7: Community Activism ↗ · 1 mintranscript
🎧 Activity 9: Friends and Inspirations ↗ · 0 mintranscript
🎧 Activity 13: Garden Scavenger Hunt ↗ · 0 mintranscript
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Learn more
Samuel Longfellow's correspondence, and the relationships he formed over the course of his life, point to the complexities of the gay experience in New England in the 1800s.
Henry and Fanny Longfellow had six children, all born in the 1840s and 1850s: Charles, Annie, Alice, Ernest, baby Fan, and Edith. This online exhibition highlights the toys, clothing, artwork, schoolwork, books, poetry, and familial challenges that shaped their childhood.
What can the 1950 Census, released by the National Archives and Records Administration in April 2022, tell us about the residents of Longfellow House at 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA?
Frank Buda (1915-1997) was among the most dedicated stewards of the Longfellow House in Cambridge, working at the house in various roles for more than 50 years. Frank Buda’s story is a testament to the power of dedication and stewardship.
Nine short videos chronicle American history through the lens of George Washington's birthday and how it was (or wasn't) celebrated during critical points during his life.
Before the construction of the Georgian mansion that stands at 105 Brattle Street today, this spot on the road to Watertown was the site of an earlier English colonial house. Archeological excavations in 2003 and 2022 uncovered the foundation of the Marrett house in the present forecourt (front yard) of the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House.
The Digital Archives Portal offers researchers and the public access to the collections of Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS from home. Learn how digitization helps preserve our archival material while allowing us to share it widely.
In late 1914, Alice Longfellow donated to the American Field Service, funding the purchase and maintenance of a Ford Ambulance at the front. Ambulance No. 88 served at the front in France and Belgium from January 1915 through July 1917.
Ranger School
Park-grounded courses you can learn with the Ranger.
How Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
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