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This lovely pen was handcrafted from an elm tree recently removed from the Wadsworth-Longfellow Garden in downtown Portland, Maine. In front of the historic Garden, the Wadsworth-Longfellow House is under restoration through 2002. Now a National Historic Landmark, the Georgian style house survives as one of Portland's earliest historic buildings. It has been a museum since 1901, when Anne Longfellow Pierce (1810-1901) gave the house and gardens to the Maine Historical Society as a tribute to her famous brother, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and their renowned family Built by General Peleg Wadsworth, A Revolutionary War hero, the homestead was occupied by his ten children, including Henry W. Longfellow's mother. During her frequent visits to the home, Henry became an aspiring poet and eventually one of the most famous literary figures of his day. It is said that Henry and his siblings even inscribed poetry verses on walls and behind the shutters of the homestead.
The spirits of three vibrant generations of the Wadsworth-Longfellow family may be felt in the garden as one recites "The children's Hour" or some other favorite Longfellow poem. Perhaps this pen will inspire you one day to write a poem or visit the famous Wadsworth-Longfellow House/Museum of Portland, Maine.