Grandfather's House, also known as the Paul Curtis House, is a historic house in
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus on both sides of the Medford and Somervill ...
. It is claimed to be the original house named in the American poem "
Over the River and through the Wood
"The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day", also known as "Over the River and Through the Wood", is a Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving poem by Lydia Maria Child, originally published in 1844 in ''Flowers for Children'', Volum ...
" by
Lydia Maria Child
Lydia Maria Child ( Francis; February 11, 1802October 20, 1880) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native Americans in the United States, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalis ...
. (Although many people sing "to grandmother's house we go", the author's original words were "to grandfather's house we go".)
The house, which was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1975, is also noteworthy for being the best-preserved example of
Greek Revival architecture
Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
in Medford, and for its association with
Paul Curtis, a prominent local shipbuilder.
History
The rear portion of the modern house was built as a small farmhouse in the early 19th century. Child recalled the farmhouse when she wrote of her childhood visits to her grandfather's house in her poem, published in 1844.
The house is located near the
Mystic River
The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts. In the Massachusett language, means "large estuary", alluding to the tidal ...
, which is believed to be the river referred to in the poem. The referenced woods have long since been replaced by residential housing.
About 1839, Curtis greatly enlarged the house and gave it its two-story
Ionic portico. In 1975, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1976,
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
purchased and restored the house. In 2013 the house was sold to a developer who divided the lot the house sits on in order to build a duplex next door. In 2014 the house was again sold without its former yard to a private individual.
In the 19th century, ships were built across the street. A painting hung in the house shows a ship being built, with the house across the river, and Ballou Hall (the original Tufts building) on top of the hill in the distance, with no other development in between.
See also
*
*
Notes
References
* Grandmother:
* Grandfather:
External links
"Over the River and through the Woods": Grandmother's House lyrics*
ttps://archive.today/20130426051351/http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977179413 Article about the house and song
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Medford, Massachusetts
Buildings at Tufts University