Tours of the c.1688 Whittier Homestead are available by reservation.
The Whittier Birthplace was organized in April 1893 to preserve the historic landscape, house, and other buildings as nearly as may be, in the same condition as when John Greenleaf Whittier lived on the farmstead and to provide public access to the property so that the legacy of Whittier’s literary and abolition works may be remembered.
Born on December 17, 1807, John Greenleaf Whittier grew up on his family’s farm in Haverhill, Massachusetts. His first poem was published in 1826. In the years leading up to the Civil War he became increasingly involved with the abolitionist cause, serving in numerous capacities on the local, state, and national levels.
After the publication of his poem Snow-Bound in 1866, Whittier enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle from the profits of his published works. Nearly every volume of his poetry published after Snow-Bound was a bestseller. Whittier died on September 7, 1892 and was buried with the rest of his family in Amesbury, Massachusetts.
Big Dog Show
The Big Dog Show is back for a third year!
The Donald C. Freeman Memorial Trail
As in the famous Underground Railroad, there are a series of stations along the Freeman Memorial Trail, identified by numbered signs. Participants in the walking tour are asked to focus attention upon 13 signs specifically cited in passages from either Whittier’s own poetry or from the prose of one of his many biographers. This brochure provides clearly accredited direct quotations from the poetry or the prose relating to all but one of the numbered stations along the Freeman Trail.
Volunteer.
The Whittier Birthplace seeks volunteers to help with a variety of projects, from buildings and grounds to education and programs.
“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.”
— John Greenleaf Whittier
“And, while my words are read,
Let this at least be said:
“Whate’er his life’s defeatures,
He loved his fellow-creatures.”
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