A GLIMPSE INSIDE HISTORY HOUSE – PART 3

 

The front room is referred to as the “Longfellow Room” in honor of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who was a well-known American poet and educator.  He was born in 1807 in Portland, when Maine was still part of Massachusetts.  His works include “Paul Revere’s Ride”, “The Song of Hiawatha” and “Evangeline”.

Although Longfellow never lived in Parsonsfield or Porter, he frequently visited his grandparents’ home in Hiram.  There were Wadsworth relatives who did live in Porter so he was probably familiar with this area.  Our founder, Ina Emery, received many donations of Longfellow items from the Longfellow Society when his birth place in Portland was razed in 1955.  The piano, bookcase, ladder back chairs,
magazine rack and several of the larger pictures in this room were among the donations.   Therefore, we have adopted him for our History House exhibit. Many of the other items, including books of his poems were donated by the late

Barbara Korn who was an avid collector and once a docent at the Portland Longfellow House.

Also in this room is a parlor organ that came from the Ray Garland house in 

Porter, Maine.  The mirror between the front windows came from Miss Perkins Millinery Shop, once located on the corner of Main and Bridge St. in Porter next to the movie theater. 

Our first open house at History House is on Saturday June 4, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.  

The new exhibit “Antique and Vintage Toys” will be ready for viewing.  

We look forward to seeing you there.