In 1836, the 19th-century Quaker poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier purchased a small four-room cottage with an attic in Amesbury. It was near the Friends Meetinghouse, which the family attended. Over the years the home expanded, but the original four downstairs rooms and furnishings remain nearly the same as when the family occupied them. Here Whittier wrote much of his literary legacy, including Snowbound, and led a crusade against slavery and social injustice.
For more than 100 years, the Whittier Home Association has been steward of this historic house museum. The Association renovated the buildings and grounds for the 2007 town-wide celebration of the 200th anniversary of Whittier’s birth. Visitors will rediscover his extraordinary life and legacy through exhibits and programs at the Museum and other sites. In 1963 the Museum was designated a National Historic Landmark.
