The Robert Frost Farm in

Derry, New Hampshire Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the fourth most populous in th ...

is a two-story, clapboard,

connected farm A connected farm is an architectural design common in the New England region of the United States, and England and Wales in the United Kingdom. North American connected farms date back to the 17th century, while their British counterparts have a ...

built in 1884. It was the home of poet

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American collo ...

from 1900 to 1911. Today it is a New Hampshire state park in use as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

. The property is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as the Robert Frost Homestead.

History

Frost lived in the house from the fall of 1900 until it was sold in November 1911.Parini, Jay. ''Robert Frost: A Life''. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999. . The majority of the poems collected in his first two books, '' A Boy's Will'' and ''

North of Boston ''North of Boston'' is a collection of seventeen poems by Robert Frost, first published in 1914 by David Nutt in Great Britain. Most of the poems resemble short dramas or dialogues. It is also called a book of people because most of the poems de ...

'', were written here. Many of the poems in his 1916 collection ''Mountain Interval'' were also written at the Derry farm. Frost once said, "There was something about the experience at Derry which stayed in my mind, and was tapped for poetry in the years that came after." During this period Frost also published a dozen articles for two agricultural trade journals: ''The Eastern Poultryman'' and ''The Farm-Poultry''. Elliott, first son of Frost and his wife Elinor, died on the farm in 1900 at age four, likely due to

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

.Francis, Lesley Lee. ''Robert Frost: An Adventure in Poetry, 1900–1918''. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2004. . The other children were educated at home by their parents. Lesley Frost later recalled she was "taught the alphabet on a typewriter... My mother taught the organized subjects, reading (the phonetic method), writing (then known as penmanship), geography, spelling. My father took on

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

." A hired man named Carl Burrell (and, occasionally, Burrell's father) assisted with farming duties like building hen coops, tending livestock, and picking apples and pears. Locals thought Frost was lazy as a farmer. He later recalled that they were correct: "I always liked to sit up all hours of the night planning some inarticulate crime, going out to work when the spirit moved me, something they shook their heads ominously at, with proper prejudice. They would talk among themselves about my lack of energy. I was a failure in their eyes from the start." The family moved out in the fall of 1909 to rented lodgings in Derry Village while Frost taught at the

Pinkerton Academy Pinkerton Academy is a secondary school in Derry, New Hampshire, United States. It serves roughly 3,269 students, making it by far the largest high school in New Hampshire, more than 1,300 students greater than the next largest high school. Pink ...

. They later moved to Plymouth, New Hampshire, so that Frost could teach at the

Plymouth Normal School Plymouth State University (PSU), formerly Plymouth State College, is a public university in the towns of Plymouth and Holderness, New Hampshire. As of fall 2020, Plymouth State University enrolls 4,491 students (3,739 undergraduate students an ...

. In the 1940s, after Frost had left the farm, the property took on use as a junk yard. The field behind the home was littered with hundreds of junk cars, and the home itself fell into disrepair. The property was obtained by the state of New Hampshire in 1964. By 1975, restorations were complete and the farm was opened for public visitation.

Modern history

The property, originally owned by Frost's grandfather, was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

in 1968. and The property is a New Hampshire state park. It is located on the east side of Rockingham Road (

New Hampshire Route 28 New Hampshire Route 28 is an north–south state highway in eastern New Hampshire. It connects the town of Ossipee in east-central New Hampshire with Salem on the Massachusetts border, while passing through Manchester, the largest city in the st ...

), southeast of Derry Village. It is open to the public seasonally. File:Robert Frost farm Derry NH (19).JPG, Visits to the information center in the barn and self-guided tours around the property are free. Guided tours are available for a fee. File:Robert Frost farm Derry NH (8).JPG, Chair similar to the one that Frost used for writing; on the table lie copies of

The Youth's Companion ''The Youth's Companion'' (1827–1929), known in later years as simply ''The Companion—For All the Family'', was an American children's magazine that existed for over one hundred years until it finally merged with '' The American Boy'' in 1929 ...

which he read to his children and students. File:Robert Frost farm Derry NH (6).JPG, Original soapstone sink with marks where the Frost family sharpened their knives. It was found in the cellar and reinstalled in the 1980s.

References in Robert Frost poems

*Frost's Poem "

Mending Wall "Mending Wall" is a poem by the twentieth-century American poet Robert Frost (1874–1963). It opens Robert's second collection of poetry, ''North of Boston'', published in 1914 by David Nutt, and it has become "one of the most anthologized ...

" was written about the times he spent with his neighbor, Napoleon Guay, repairing the stone wall that divided their properties. This was a yearly ritual known as "spring mending time". He wrote the poem while living in England and feeling homesick for his New England farm. *"Hyla Brook" was written while he was still living on the farm in 1906. It is about a small brook, just south of the property.

References

External links

Robert Frost Farm Historic Site
New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation
The Robert Frost Farm
Trustees of the Robert Frost Farm {{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Robert, Farm National Historic Landmarks in New Hampshire Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Houses completed in 1900 Robert Frost Farm Historic house museums in New Hampshire Derry, New Hampshire Museums in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Biographical museums in New Hampshire Literary museums in the United States Robert Frost Farm

Farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is use ...

Houses in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Robert Frost Farm National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Frost, Robert Farm

History

Modern history

References in Robert Frost poems

See also

References

External links