Robert Frost Farm (Derry, New Hampshire) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Robert Frost Farm State Historic Site
The Robert Frost Farm
Location	122 Rockingham Rd, Derry, New Hampshire
Area	64 acres (26 ha)
Elevation	456 feet (139 m)
Administered by	New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation
Designation	New Hampshire state park
Website	Robert Frost Farm State Historic Site

Robert Frost Homestead
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark


Area	13 acres (5.3 ha)
Built	1884
NRHP reference No.	68000008
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 23, 1968
Designated NHL	May 23, 1968

The Robert Frost Farm in Derry, New Hampshire is a historic two-story house built in 1884. It was the home of the famous poet Robert Frost from 1900 to 1911. Today, it's a New Hampshire state park and a museum where you can learn about Frost's life and work. The farm is also recognized as a special historical place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Robert Frost's Life at the Farm
The Farm Today
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Robert Frost's Life at the Farm

Robert Frost lived in this house from the fall of 1900 until it was sold in November 1911. Many of the poems in his first two books, A Boy's Will and North of Boston, were written here. He also wrote poems for his 1916 collection Mountain Interval at the Derry farm. Frost once said that his time in Derry stayed with him and inspired his poetry for years. During this period, Frost also wrote articles for farming magazines.

Family Life and Education

Frost and his wife Elinor had several children. Their first son, Elliott, passed away on the farm in 1900 at age four, likely from the flu. The other children were taught at home by their parents. His daughter, Lesley Frost, later remembered learning the alphabet on a typewriter. Her mother taught subjects like reading, writing, geography, and spelling. Her father, Robert Frost, taught them about plants (botany) and stars (astronomy).

Farming and Poetry

A helper named Carl Burrell often assisted with farm tasks. These included building chicken coops, caring for animals, and picking fruits like apples and pears. Local people thought Frost was not a very good farmer. Frost later agreed, saying he preferred to plan his poems late at night. He would work when he felt inspired, which made some neighbors think he was lazy. He felt they saw him as a failure at farming from the start.

Moving On

The Frost family moved out in the fall of 1909. They rented a place in Derry Village while Frost taught at the Pinkerton Academy. Later, they moved to Plymouth, New Hampshire, where Frost taught at the Plymouth Normal School.

The Farm's Journey to a Museum

After Frost left the farm in the 1940s, the property became a place where old cars were stored. The fields behind the house were filled with hundreds of junk cars, and the house itself started to fall apart. The state of New Hampshire bought the property in 1964. By 1975, the farm was fully restored and opened to the public as a historic site.

The Farm Today

The property, which Frost's grandfather originally owned, was named a National Historic Landmark in 1968. Today, it is a New Hampshire state park. It is located on the east side of Rockingham Road (New Hampshire Route 28), about 2 miles southeast of Derry Village. The farm is open to visitors during certain seasons of the year.

Visits to the information center in the barn and self-guided tours around the property are free. Guided tours are available for a fee.
A chair similar to the one Frost used for writing. On the table are copies of The Youth's Companion, which he read to his children and students.
The original soapstone sink with marks where the Frost family sharpened their knives. It was found in the cellar and put back in the 1980s.

Robert Frost Farm (Derry, New Hampshire) facts for kids

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