Historic Homes of New England

by Mary Harrod Northend

With the exception of Mount Vernon, there is perhaps no house better known in America than the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow house at Cambridge, Massachusetts, its reputation having been gained from the fact that it was the home of the late distinguished and beloved poet. Here have come most illustrious guests from all over the world, and under the roof-tree was given to Longfellow the theme for his famous poem of Evangeline, during a visit of Horace Conelly and of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

There are few mansions of more stately dignity than this large, colonial house, standing back from the main road, surrounded by smooth, velvety lawns dotted here and there with mighty elms. It was built in 1760 by John Vassall, of a family prominent in the history of our country, whose name had been traced back to the year 1500, and many members of which have married into distinguished families.

John Vassall was the son of "Colonel" John Vassall, who married Elizabeth Phipps, daughter of Lieutenant-governor Phipps. His uncle, Henry Vassall, married Penelope Royall of Medford. These two brothers were sons of "Major" Leonard Vassall, who was twice married and had eighteen children.

John Vassall, like his father, was graduated from Harvard. On January 12, 1761, he married Elizabeth Oliver, daughter of Lieutenant-governor Oliver. His sister Elizabeth had previously been married to Lieutenant-governor Oliver, who lived near by at Elmwood.

When John Vassall built the Longfellow house, the estate was not so contracted as it is to-day, but embraced large grounds of more than a hundred acres. Concerning his life here, there is little known, save that the family were very hospitable and were numbered among the Royalists, who in those days formed a small colony of their own, later known as "Old Tory Row." This included many wealthy people of Boston who had not as yet embraced the cause of the colonists.

In 1775, at the commencement of the Revolutionary troubles, this group of men were naturally out of favor and eventually it ceased to exist. About this time Vassall left to take up his residence in Boston, and soon afterward, failing to agree with the colonists' ideas, he removed with his family to England. In accordance with the custom of that period, the estate was confiscated in 1778, shortly after its desertion by its original owner. This was some years after the encampment of continental troops in Cambridge, when this mansion, like many others, was used for officers' headquarters.

On the grounds were encamped the regiment from Marblehead under the command of Colonel Glover. This seems to have been a favorite rendezvous for the colonial troops, for later on General Washington made this his headquarters, remaining for a long period. While he was here, Madam Washington joined him, and tradition tells of much gaiety and many banquets given at the residence by the general and his wife. There are still in existence notes from his account book which deal with this house, as for instance:

"July 15, 1775, Paid for cleaning the House which was provided for my Quarters, and which had been occupied by the Marblehead regiment, £2 10s. 9d."

It is probable that this house was used for a longer period than any other during the war for headquarters of Washington, as it was not until March of the following year after the evacuation of Boston by the British that it was again left empty. In this dwelling the generals met often to hold secret discussions. Representatives from the Legislature, then convened at Watertown, held here many long conferences concerning the advisability of different schemes to defeat the British, and many people of note from all over the world came here to meet Washington on both social and political affairs.

We are told that a "Twelfth Night" party was given in the drawing-room opposite the Longfellow study, where many entertainments took place, and that the oldest inhabitants were invited to this party. Down the stairs, where now stands the old grandfather's clock made famous by Longfellow's poems, the stately colonial dames of Revolutionary times came slowly, dressed in their silks and satins, with powdered hair and patches, to take part in the festivities within.