John Greenleaf Whittier Homestead

The Whittier Homestead is an outstanding example of the old New England farm, located on its original site, is substantially the same as when John Greenleaf Whittier lived there in 1807 until 1836. The homestead is the setting of his most famous and beloved poem Snow-Bound. Many settings from his poems are recognizable to those who have read them.

Fernside Brook still flows along, and the path over the stepping stones to Job’s Hill, the site of the old mill and the ancient family burial lot are to be found within 69 acres of the present Homestead property. The surrounding land inspired Whittier to write such poems as Fernside Brook, Telling the Bees, and the Barefoot Boy, with specific locations so accurately described that they may still be readily identified today.