Robert Frost Home

Robert Frost modernized American poetry for the 20th century, becoming one of its greatest exponents. He invoked stirring imagery of rural New England life to examine complex philosophical themes and had an extraordinary ability to express deeply insightful ideas in everyday language. Frost won four Pulitzer Prizes for his work and spoke at President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inauguration.

Robert Frost lived in this house while teaching at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in the mid-1920s.

Robert Frost moved into this house in 1925. He selected it because it was away from the bustle of campus. The house provided comfort and solace. This home gave Frost "space" to create and a place to gather with his students. Frost loved it, and it suited his needs.

This 1830s house is built in a style known as Greek Revival, a design that appealed to a young American nation. Following the Revolution, Americans saw themselves as the inheritors of democracy and looked back to Greek and Roman architecture for inspiration. It features a triangular portico, supported by columns, derived from ancient temples. Frost lived here until 1926 when he returned to Amherst, Massachusetts.

Henry Ford discovered the house in the mid-1930s while driving through Ann Arbor. He exclaimed that this was an exceptional example of Greek Revival architecture and needed to be part of his Greenfield Village. Ford instructed his architect to move the house and "improve" it by removing the porch roof and replacing it with an architecturally appropriate portico. For years, the house was referred to as the Ann Arbor House.

The home joined other domestic structures in Greenfield Village, including the Noah Webster House, which came the previous year.

Like nearly all the buildings in Greenfield Village, this house served as classroom space for children attending the Edison Institute School. This house served as the kindergarten.

Since the 1960s, the house has been decorated with furnishings from the early 1800s. The parlor is decked out in furniture from the Federal era, about 1800-1820. Robert Frost likely kept the parlor doors open to the dining room, creating a functional space to meet and interact with his students.

The dining room, adjoining the parlor, features Empire-era furnishings from 1825-1850. Here, in front of the fireplace, Robert Frost wrote "Spring Pools" in 1925.

This first floor bedroom was likely used as Robert Frost's private office.

Many visitors, especially poetry enthusiasts, are surprised by the presence of this house in Greenfield Village, unaware of Robert Frost's time in Ann Arbor. The house and its connection to one of the greatest 20th-century American poets fit nicely into The Henry Ford's mission of presenting stories of innovation.