Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site: Institution Main

Built in 1759, the Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters served as the military headquarters for General George Washington for the first nine months after he assumed control of the army in July of 1775. Later, it was owned by noted poet and art collector Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, along with his wife, Frances Appleton, and his children.

Longfellow lived in the house until his death in 1882. In 1913, Longfellow's surviving children created the Longfellow House Trust to preserve the house. In 1962, the house lobbied to become a national historic landmark, and in 1972 it was donated to the National Park Service.

Most notably, Charles Longfellow, Henry and Fanny Longfellow’s oldest child, collected extensively during his travels in India, China, Japan, and other Asian countries in the late 1800s, displaying all his treasures in what is known as the Japan room.

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