John Greenleaf Whittier Home & Hat Museum
During my adventure to Amesbury, MA and Portsmouth, NH in September 2023, I visited John Greenleaf Whittier Home & Hat Museum, longtime residence of an abolitionist Quaker poet and current residence to an array of fun hats. John Greenleaf Whittier is not as well remembered as his more outgoing friends, William Lloyd Garrison and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (whose home I had visited a few weeks prior), but I was familiar with Whittier and his work from my research on another abolitionist, Blackstone River Valley resident Abby Kelley Foster. His house has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1966.
Located down the street from Friends Meeting House in Amesbury, which I had visited the previous day, Whittier moved to the house in 1836 at twenty-nine years old along with his mother Abigail Hussey Whittier, his younger sister Elizabeth Hussey Whittier, and his maternal aunt Mercy Evans Hussey. Previously, he had lived with his family at his birthplace in Haverhill, MA, which has also become a museum. At this point in Whittier’s life, he had been involved with the abolitionist movement for eight years, joining an anti-slavery society at age twenty-one and editing its newspaper.
Besides his work in the abolitionist movement, Whittier was best known for his book of poetry, Snow-Bound: A Winter Idle, published in 1866 after the Civil War. Portsmouth native James Thomas Fields was the publisher; I had stopped by his house during my September 2022 trip to the area. This poem won Whittier national fame and wealth, but he did not let this go to his head. He continued to be supportive of other writers, especially women, many of whom have already appeared on the blog. He worked with Sarah Orne Jewett, whose house I visited physically in August 2022 and virtually in March 2023, and Celia Thaxter, whose island garden was featured in a webinar hosted by Culturally Curious back in August 2023.
The house itself is a classic Cape style cottage with plenty of 19th century additions. The furniture and decor of the house are almost entirely original to Whittier. Visitors can view the death mask and hands of Whittier, a popular momento in the 19th century; the last death mask I saw was of William Lloyd Garrison at the Museum of Old Newbury in June 2023. The current owner of the house, the Whittier Home Association, was established in 1898, a mere six years after Whittier’s death, although his great-nephew, Greenleaf Whittier Pickard (who wins the award for best name in this post) continued to live in and modernize the house for several years. As an added bonus, a spare room now hosts a little Hat Museum featuring a delightful array of hats in reference to the now defunct Amersbury hat industry, which I had briefly learned about at the Industrial History Center. This bonus exhibit reminded me of the New England Carousel Museum, which featured the smaller Greek Museum and Fire Museum inside its building.
Whittier Home is open on Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. during the regular season, May through October. Tours occur on a rolling basis and last for as long as desired, as the site is not busy and the script is loose. My tour took about an hour. Donations are accepted. Like most house museums, Whittier Home is not accessible to those using wheelchairs or with limited mobility. The association provides a free curriculum about the life of Whittier and his house, making this an ideal opportunity for field trips.
Abby Epplett’s Rating System
Experience: 7/10
Accessibility: 5/10