[5] This set-up did not last long and when the tree was cut down, the children of Cambridge raised money to have the wood converted into an armchair and presented it to Longfellow[6] in 1879, inspiring him to write a poem in gratitude titled "From my Arm-Chair".

The purchase of the $4,500 house on June 1, 1870, was subsidized by activist James Murray Howe, who deeded it to Mary Walker the next day.

Ulich personally persuaded the group to choose the Pratt House as their location, though it was then in disrepair and its purchase necessitated raising $40,000 in loans.

The chestnut tree from the poem was commemorated in 1989 with a modern iron sculpture by Dimitri Gerakaris, whose anvil and other tools were incorporated into the metalwork.

[12] In 2014, the CCAE received a Preservation Award from the Massachusetts Historical Commission for its restoration efforts of the house.