Maine Historical Society and the Wadsworth-Longfellow House

The Maine Historical Society Museum in Portland offers a quirky and engaging experience—perfect for a quick escape from the rain. The current exhibits include Best Friends: Mainers and Their Pets, Maine’s Untold Vegetarian History, and Notorious: Maine Crime in the Public Eye, 1690–1940. While you won’t come away with a deep understanding of Portland’s history, the museum’s charm lies in its offbeat, thoughtfully curated displays. It’s a fun, low-key stop for anyone interested in Maine’s more unexpected historical threads. Overall, it’s a brief but enjoyable visit that highlights some of the state’s lesser-known stories.

We really enjoyed our visit. It is a gorgeous place. Kudos to the staff who put their hilarious spin on the "do not touch" signs! I pretty much went on a treasure hunt, looking for one in each room! Our guide was wonderful,too.

Been walking by this place just about every day for two months and every time I walk by, I say one of these days I've GOT to go in. History is cool and Maine History is Super Cool. I've heard nothing but good things about the Maine Historical Society and I'm a big fan of Longfellow's work, going next week and plan on doing a FULL review after I tour both locations.

Fun experience. My initial reaction was that the museum felt small and like it would test my patience as there was a lot of reading placards vs "stuff" to look at. Boy was I in for a pleasant surprise. The information was gripping. I found myself looking forward to the next story. I left thinking I learned an awful lot and had a nice base if I wanted to pursue further on my own. Tour of the Wadsworth Longfellow house was also a fun adventure. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly and encouraged a thoughtful experience. It was a little cramped with 10 participants but not horribly so. I definitely recommend.

The two main Wadsworth-Longfellow houses (this and the house in Boston) are unusual in the sheer volume of original artifacts. What distinguishes this house is the rather professorial mien of the guides. Taken in total, it is easy to gain a deeper appreciation for America's most popular poet during the 19th century.

We like to visit a historical society whenever we get a chance because we like learning about the community's history. There's a great food exhibit in the gallery that was really interesting and informative. You can even turn into a Portland Italian sandwich which is obviously for kids, but naturally I couldn't resist. You can also visit the Wadsworth-Longfellow House next door.

We wanted to visit a museum in Portland that is focused on local history and this was the only one that fit the bill. It was small but quite interesting. It gave us a glimpse of Maine’s past and present through two exhibitions. The first, called “Trade Banners and the Crafts That Built Maine” presented the various trade associations from the mid-1800s, whose collective output was vital to the state’s economy. The second, called “Spark! Maine ART Stories”, showcased the work of contemporary local artists and what Maine means to them. The museum has a nice gift shop offering coffee table books and souvenirs. We stayed for an hour.

Had a wonderful conversation with an employee who stopped by the mural we were painting around the corner. He shared a lot of knowledge about the imagery we chose to feature in the piece. Little did we know Longfellow’s house was right around the corner! Thank you!!

Another must see in Portland. I'm very impressed with all the furnishings dating back to the 1700's. Once again they've done an amazing job restoring to the original house. Thank you to the family for the donation!!

It's a History to Me Founded in 1822, the Maine Historical Society's sole purpose is to preserve the history of Maine thru rotating exhibits that include historical photos and artifacts. The Good: *Free admission to the Longfellow Garden (May - Oct) during normal hours of operation *Wadsworth-Longfellow House is a separate part of the museum, with a separate fee ($18/GA). We didn't do this, so I can't comment if it's worth it. *Admission is reasonable at $12/adults *Reciprocity program with other museums, if you're a member ($25-75/year). *Located in beautiful Downtown Portland The Meh: *Not the world's biggest museum, as you can probably see the whole thing in 1-2hrs, depending on how much you read the placards for each item/display. The Ugly: *Location is in Downtown Portland, which is great, but you'll most likely have to deal with paying for parking at one of the garages. Pro Tip: If the garage DOESN'T advertise their pricing on the outside, then skip it on and move onto the next one that does. Evidently these predatory parking garages are a big thing here in DT Portland. Conclusion: Nice place to visit if you're in Portland and looking for a little culture.

The Maine Historical Society has a rotating exhibit. The day I went was for Notorious: Maine Crime in the Public Eye. I purchased a combo ticket with the Longfellow House next door. I reviewed it separately. The exhibit was interesting but I could have done without it. It was mostly story boards detailing the famous crimes in Maine. There were some actual items displayed. It was also small. Not bad but not great.

The Maine Historical Society says on their website: "Connecting and documenting the Maine experience" and "dedicates itself to making history relevant and accessible" and I could not agree more! We live locally and have been checking out the rotating exhibits over the past 10 or so years-all unique, informative rich, fascinating topics, amazing artifacts. You can look online to see what's going on/get tickets for specified time and can also buy in person there. Easily found on Congress Street in Portland, accessible all one level (no stairs), gift shop excellently curated for the history buffs and admission is affordable. At the time of our visit the 3 smaller exhibits included: "Mainers and their pets", "Maines untold history of Vegetarianism" and "Maine sheet music"- all was well worth the price of admission! This is also the place to tour the historic Wadsworth-Longfellow house. Only downside is parking- they do not have a dedicated parking lot so it's on-street parking. Congress has some, but it's a busy area so we tend to park on surrounding streets in the region from Congress St down to Commercial street side of Congress St and there is also a parking garage nearby. Walkable area location-shops and restaurants also fun to stop in to support local too. Highly recommended- here's to preserving history, learning where we've been to better understand where we are now and where we're headed in the future!

Such a cool little museum! We did the Christmas tour and it was fun and informative. The house itself has so much history in its walls starting with the American Revolution. They have also done a nice job of curating a significant collection of art and furniture that was originally in the home. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and answered all our obscure questions about the house and the various pieces within. If you find yourself in Portland and you like history or you are a Wordsworth fan you should definitely check it out.

I enjoyed the presentation. The atmosphere was very pleasant. The exhibit was very well organized.

Interesting information about the childhood home of the famous poet and a small collection of natural history exhibits. The house contains all of the original furniture and portraits. Tours consist of all of the rooms on the first and second floors and elapse for about 45 minutes. There is not much information here about the poet himself, but plenty of information about all of the residents and rooms of the house. The natural history exhibits were surprisingly detailed and provided a cursory look at the impact of human activity on the environment. Overall, I thought the Wadsworth-Longfellow house was a worthwhile stop and would recommend a visit.

The Wadsworth-Longfellow House is a small but interesting historic site that might be worth a stop if you're in the area and have a strong interest in this legendary poet's early life or enjoy historic homes generally, but it's not a large residence and can be seen quickly, so don't expect to get much for the price of admission. There were helpful docents available to answer our questions, but the "tour" currently on offer is self-guided, using an app we were encouraged to download that describes each room using brief audio clips. Pervasive, tongue-in-cheek signs reminding visitors not to touch things were, oddly, one the most memorable aspects of our visit. I'm sure they were meant playfully, but they come across as a rather persistent scolding in advance of having done anything wrong -- a bit overdone, perhaps, and they kind of make a visitor feel unwelcome. The exhibit at the Historical Society Museum next door is peak anti-colonialist, eco-apocalyptic, we're-sorry-for-existing seppuku, so be warned. Enjoy, if a vigorous browbeating is your thing. Else, be advised to spend your time and money someplace more worthy. A single admission covers both the house and the museum, so there's no way to visit one without supporting the other.

During our trip to Maine, my brother was interested in touring the Maine Historical Society - specifically the Wadsworth-Longfellow House. He's a literature enthusiast so something like this was right up his alley. I'm not as much into literature, but I enjoy learning about culture and visiting museums, so I thought it would be a great way to spend the morning. Before we entered the house, we checked in at the gallery and gift shop. We were given stickers to signify we were here for the tour and were instructed to download an app on our phones that would serve as an audio guide throughout our time in the house. The house itself served as the childhood home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and we got a chance to explore most of the rooms on the first and second floors. The rooms were nicely set up, and tracking in the app made it so that the audio on our phones matched what room we were in. We also had access to the outdoor gardens which were beautifully lush. Even though the tour was self-guided, there were curators throughout the house who popped in and gave fun facts about the house itself and Wadsworth-Longfellow's life. The second part of our tour was the gallery portion of the Maine Historical Society. Here, there were multiple exhibits on display describing Maine's history as well as hot topics pertaining to today and how the link to the past. I really enjoyed the gallery - it was interesting to learn about Maine's history and what cultural initiatives were on the horizon. They have a nice gift shop at the conclusion of the gallery, and overall I thought this was a great way to spend half a day. I learned a lot, and thought that they did a great job with the entire experience.

The Maine Historical Society is the oldest state historical society in the United States, having been founded in 1822. The one-acre campus on Congress St includes the MHS museum (which has some really interesting exhibits throughout the year), a great store, research library, the Longfellow Garden (which is open to the public from May-ish to October-ish; it's a secret garden behind MHS that used to be the farmyard for the Longfellow's), and the Longfellow House. MHS does an exceptional job at being involved in the local community, and keeping the history of Portland both relevant and exciting. I've come to book lectures here about the food movement in Portland, similarly I've seen an exhibit featuring menus from up to a hundred years ago. They also host readings of children's books, historical walking tours, and lectures of all kinds. I've had the chance to peruse the Longfellow House on a number of occasions, and it's *always* so fascinating. Like a frozen moment in time located right on one of Portland's busiest areas! It's mind boggling to think that the Longfellow house was once considered to be on the "skirts" of town! The rooms are immaculately kept and the docents are incredibly informative. Is this for everyone? No. If you're looking for action, CGI, "entertainment" as the media has defined it in this day and age, or for folks to break out into song, you're going to be disappointed. However... if you're looking for substance, find your way to Henry's house. And expect to see me in the secret garden this summer eating my lunch!

I reluctantly took a guided tour of the Wadsworth House and I'm glad I did. Our guide, James Horrigan, was knowledgeable and entertaining--really engaging with the crowd. I definitely recommend doing a tour of this site. One of the better historic house tours I've ever done.

Adjacent to the Maine Historical Society building, the Longfellow house is accessible only via an hour-long guided tour. Admission to the tour is $10 with a AAA discount, which also grants you access to a small civil war museum with highlights on Maine's involvement in the war. Our tour guide was Terri, who was clearly well-versed (pun intended) on Wadsworth Longfellow's poetry, slinging a few rhymes throughout our tour. She always had a smile on her face and was genuinely interested in the history of the house and of the surrounding area. I agree with Yan that it isn't necessarily a "must-do" but it's certainly a destination that's unique to Portland, and a great way to toss in some history amongst a day of shopping and dining around beautiful Portland.

If you're looking to learn more about Maine's founding a. I came here looking to learn more about Wabanaki culture and am so happy to have come here. I am sad I missed their year long Wabanaki exhibit, but got to learn about eugenics done to the Malaga Island inhabitants, notable Blacks of Maine (and the moving "Anchor of a Soul" documentary that reminds us of how less than a generation ago how homogenous and isolated of communities Blacks still lived in). And also there was plenty of maps for the cartographer enthusiast to see how Maine's borders and independence evolved, as well as questions for younger inquisitive minds ("How would you design the new Maine seal? What represents Maine in 2020?") We were very lucky to be able to visit during covid times, only 5 people were allowed at a time, when before there would be a long line especially for the Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow home. The staff are living treasure troves of knowledge, so happy to share what has been happening in this current climate (protests for BLM and how's its affected businesses, how a cancelled protest still had a few middle aged women walking around with signs because people are so engaged with their communities) and share their experiences growing up and living in Maine. Come here for an education on the past and present! I couldn't highly recommend this place more.

Visited the Wadsworth-Longfellow Home and enjoyed the docents immensely. As there were only four of us at the time, Tom and Kristen gave us an excellent tour, normally it is self guided. It takes about an hour to tour the house and the museum. Lots of information in the museum about indigenous people of Portland. Nice gift shop, lots of books! There is a AAA discount. Not really a place for younger kids but a nice bit of history in the center of Portland.

I went for approximately a 45 minute tour of the Longfellow House. There is an extreme amount of history here. How Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a great writer and poet. This is an amazing house considering the fact that it was built in the mid 1700s. I highly recommend this tour. We just walked in and bought our tickets. We waited about 15 minutes and it was easy as it can be to go on a tour. Lots of bedrooms but no bathrooms in this house(: back in those days you pump your water through a well so you can cook.

Very small historical society. I was hoping to see exhibits about Portland's early history, but there were none. Everything was dedicated to the food scene, which was interesting, but left me wanting a more general history. Given the limited exhibits, the admission price seemed excessive. The staff was very welcoming and the gift shop has some great items.

I attended the MHS event on genealogy last evening and learned more than I imagined! The Staff and docent are experts on the information available in Maine and very knowledgeable about the Philadelphia area as well. They were helpful and kind about cleaning up my messy Ancestry chart and provided a lot of ideas1770 for moving forward with my research. They also shared some documents from their archives - an historic proclamation by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain from 1492, a 1770 letter from Samuel and John Adams and John Hancock to Benjamin Franklin in London about the state of the American colonies, a document from Queen Elizabeth I. These were the originals right in front of my eyes! If you enjoy history, this is a great place to visit. If you have any interest in your genealogy, the people and the information here are top drawer.

Maine historic Society is my favorite spot to stop by during first Friday Art walk! I also love the historic events they host for the Longfellow house and around Portland. It's an absolutely beautiful historic spot we have in Portland Maine

Our experience was excellent. We bought tickets on line and that was a smooth process. The self guided tour provided at the check in is very good. The guides in the house were able to answer questions too. James and David were very informative. I highly recommend this site when visiting Maine.

I can't believe I've never visited the house where one of Maine's greatest literary figures, and world-renowned personality grew up. The Maine Historical Society, which owns and maintains the house, has done a remarkable job preserving the authenticity of a home built in 1785. It is the oldest standing home on the Portland peninsula. I toured the house as part of the MHS's Home for the Holidays event as a guest, with some fellow Yelpers. Not only is the house an amazing connection to Portland's past, but the abundance of docents, willing to answer questions provide an opportunity to learn about the inhabitants and history of the house. The house was given to the MHS by Longfellow's sister Anne in 1901. It has been in the able care of the Society for more than 100 years. Well worth a visit for fans of history and to experience a walk back through time.

I've taken the tour here two or three times now. They do a great job here, incorporating the life of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, his works, and the history of the family and of Portland. It was Longfellow's home as a boy, so that part of his life is highlighted - this was well before he was the famous poet. My favorite part was probably the flute that he used as a kid. Fascinating! The gift shop next door was also full of great stuff about the history of the area and there was also an exhibit area; while I was there, it focused on growing up in Portland, I believe.

Very friendly staff. They tried their hardest to give us some sort of discount but we just didn't qualify. The tour guide was no-nonsense but courteous and informative. The house reminded me of the Paul Revere house in Boston, and had some good stories inside. I wouldn't call it a "must-see," but a nice way to spend an hour in Portland. Also, I wish they would work in a bit more of his verse!

What a fun thing to do! I'm a sucker for literature as well as history, and visiting the house is an entertaining little mid-day excursion or post-lunch walkaround. I personally love doing things like this in cities I know well because I think it gives you a different look at the place you're used to. Like a New Yorker going to Grand Central for the hell of it. My point is, I suggest a tour for Portlanders maybe even more than I do for tourists; it's fun to have a fresh look at your city.

Very charming little museum! The staff is also very wonderful. I came in ready to pay the admission and they offered to let me in free because it was so close to the start of "First Fridays," where all museums/galleries are free starting at 5pm, the first of every month. It was only a little past 4 o'clock. While the space is small (check out the neat photography exhibit that's currently up), the selection totally makes up for it. Also, the little gift shop is really neat, perfect for any history and/or Maine buff!

I really enjoyed the Longfellow house and tour. I was traveling with my folks, and we were lucky enough to be the only ones in our tour group (it is after Labor Day so the tourist crush has died down a bit). It felt like we were just visiting a friend's house. Our tour guide, whose name escapes me (Mrs. Lutz maybe ?), was very good. Oftentimes the guide makes all the difference in the world in terms of helping visitors really experience the life of its residents. While I was familiar with Longfellow's most famous poems, I really didn't know much about the man. I do now - thanks to a great tour. The house itself is quite cozy - quite a contrast to the ornate nouveau riche stylings (circa 1860) of the Victoria Mansion (another must see if you are in Portland). The small garden out back is lovely as well and the small museum next to the house has a nice (albeit small) collection.

Very cool museum. The price was right and it was a perfect stop over for some culture while in Portland. We arrived about 45 minutes before closing and had plenty of time to stare at old artifacts (like a jar for tooth powder...awesome) and read all the boards of historical information. They did a great job emphasizing the importance of local history and highlighting how it's relevant today. There's one of the few remaining copies of the Declaration of Independence here which is so cool to see. Very glad that we popped in and more people should check it out.

We love coming here. We'll be back before fall, it's worth a repeat visit. It seems so authentic and we loved our guide last time. Thank you so much. Amybeth Hurst, Portland, ME

Wonderful place to visit make sure you have lots of time because there is lots to see. Staff is wonderful, pleasant, and helpful. Research library is amazing. If your are interested in Maine history you need to stop and spend some time, you won't be disappointed.

I believe our guide was Cindy and it was her first ever tour. She was fantastic. I came to glimpse the garden and did not realize I could actually go straight to it without admission but I am glad we paid, contributed to the place. Our eight year old was in tears at the thought of a boring 1 hour tour but all the rest of us really wanted to see the house so the tour guide said she could make it quick (it was just my family) and she tailored it to kids. We really appreciated it. I think when she was done the kids wanted more. I would highly recommend if you are going to Portland and like history or literature, poetry you should see the house.

Very interesting and informative tour. Sign up next door at the Excellent State history bookshop.

Very informative and great for children interested in history. Love that we have so much history and resources available to us in Portland. A great tour with a great guide, thanks Nancy! A must visit for those visiting Congress St!