John Greenleaf Whittier Homestead

[1] Thomas Whittier chose the site (originally 148 acres) for its proximity to Fernside Brook, which could both provide water and turn the wheel of a gristmill.

The future poet John Greenleaf Whittier was born in December 1807[2] in the southwest parlor of the farm house, which today remains essentially the same as it was in that year.

[4] Whittier's first poem, "The Exile's Departure", was published by the Newburyport Free Press on June 18, 1826, by editor William Lloyd Garrison.

[5] Garrison helped young Whittier attend Haverhill Academy, tuition for which was paid with food grown at the family farm.

The poet noted in 1881 that a Cleveland, Ohio resident asked for exact measurements of his Haverhill kitchen in order to recreate Whittier's childhood hearth.

Earle herself made an icon of Whittier's hearth by including a photo of it in her book Home Life in Colonial Days and frequently quoting Snow-Bound throughout her writings.